Are we drinking less wine?

Apparently wine consumption is in decline globally. Have you noticed that we’re drinking less wine?

Or, does it depend on your demographic? The word on the grapevine is that Gen Zs are shunning the booze altogether, Millennials and Gen Xers are moderating and the Boomers and the Elders are pretty much drinking what they’ve always drank.

Drinking is undeniably a huge part of British culture and perhaps, just perhaps, a sector of us (yes, Millennials and Gen Xers) gained an international reputation for over-indulging, earning us the badge for the “binge-drinking capital of Europe” (found in a 2010 article on The Telegraph website). Last year, thankfully, it seemed like we’d slipped down rather inconspicuously to joint third place, hiding along with Luxembourg, behind the Danes and the Romanians.

Maybe it’s a case of the pendulum starting to swing the other way a bit (because it probably needed to) and of some of us starting to reevaluate our relationship with drinking.

In a recent Instagram post, I asked “What comes after Dry January?”. Dry January is at the height of its popularity in the UK, but does a month of abstinence help or hinder our long-term drinking habits? One argument (from the health and addiction sector) is that sticking to two alcohol-free days a week is better for your long-term health than taking a month off the booze once a year.⁣

I’m curious: do they have Dry January in wine-loving France? Apparently, there is a small movement, but it’s not backed by the government because they don’t feel it’s a necessary message to promote to the French people. 10% of adults in France drink over 14 units per week (10 small glasses), compared to 40% in England, and alcohol consumption has actually dropped by 60% in 60 years. The French, according to Krystel Lepresle of Vin et Société, have successfully managed “to reconcile the pleasure of consumption with moderation.”
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And, there we have it. “The pleasure of consumption”. Did we forget, that behind the stop signs and the red tape and the word “no”, that wine brings us pleasure? Are we to allow pleasure in our lives? (Gen Zs, I’m looking at you - apparently you’re off the sex too! ) But, the real challenge is moderation. It’s easy for a pregnant person to talk about this, right? Ask me how I’m doing in a few months’ time.