The wine world is changing, and it's evolving because people are enjoying wine more deliberately. That's the real story we don’t hear behind all of the headlines about declining wine sales. The biggest decline in wine sales centers around what I like to call “factory wine”. This is the stuff made by folks in lab coats, and it’s parked on supermarket shelves and liquor stores everywhere. In my world, there’s no room for factory wine. My wine world is populated by real people who make real wine. They’re the farmers in small villages, continuing their family tradition, or cooperatives that allow hundreds of families to make a living. This is the wine that should fit into our healthy modern lifestyle.
Call it what you want: mindful drinking, intentional drinking; the main takeaway is that we don't confuse it with the sober-curious movement that had everyone swapping cocktails for mocktails a few years back. This isn't about abstinence. It's a shift towards quality and intention, and it's catching on fast. Every week, I hear more AWM customers talk about how they're mindfully moderating instead of cutting out wine entirely.
Like a lot of you, Hammond and I have moved in that same direction. We’ll never give up wine; let's be crystal clear about that; however, we've focused even more on how and when we enjoy our favorite adult beverage. Happily, this mindset seems to always line up perfectly with the Mediterranean approach to food and wine: less about how much is in the glass or on the plate, more about quality and how it fits into the day.
This isn't happening in a vacuum, and it’s not only about alcohol. Coming out of the pandemic, a lot of us reassessed lifestyle choices, and the ever-changing dietary guidelines have continued to amplify that conversation. It’s showing up everywhere, and the conversation extends from food and wine to nutritional awareness, exercise, and the re-aligning of lifestyle and habits that focus more on general well-being.
So what does "better, not more" actually look like at the table? Smaller pours are a good place to start. Remember, a bottle of well-made wine can stretch over a day, two, or three. Enjoying a small glass with the evening meal effortlessly elevates the experience.
Another perk: when you focus on wines made with integrity, by the farmers who actually grow the grapes, you inherently choose fewer bottles and enjoy them more. That’s the heart of what we try to do at the shop every day. We want to help you choose wines with real integrity. Wines that fit the moment, whether it’s a simple Tuesday night pasta or an evening celebrating with friends.
That mindful approach, it turns out, overlaps almost exactly with how wine has been consumed in the Mediterranean for generations. That glorious combination of food, wine and company is spread through the week rather than saved up for one big pour on a Friday night. There's real science behind why that pattern in the Mediterranean lifestyle seems to matter, and that's exactly where we're headed in Part 2 of this series.
In the meantime, here's something simple to try: pick a couple of nights this week and have a small glass with dinner, instead of waiting to crack that bottle on the weekend. Pay attention to how it changes the experience, how you actually taste and enjoy that one small glass, and how it elevates a simple weekday meal.
It’s all about enjoying less wine with more attention, leading to more pleasure. Next week, we'll look at what the latest science actually says about wine and the Mediterranean diet, and why the two seem to be better together than either one alone.