Wine companies are used to challenges: Weather/climate, economic ups and downs, competition from spirits, RTDs and now marijuana, and many more. But the Neo-Prohibitionist movement feels different to me. It's an attempt to influence behavior through incomplete and often misleading reporting of scientific studies and data. The anti-alcohol forces are seeking to control the narrative in the court of public opinion, which can negatively impact wine consumption for a generation.
I don't think the wine industry has the luxury of parsing words or engaging in sophistry just for the fun of it; we need to respond with passion, solidarity and action. The 'Come Over October' campaign has been created to advocate for wine with positive consumer messaging and reclaim the narrative in the mainstream media. It's hardly controversial to encourage people to get together over a glass of wine — or, maybe, a non-alcoholic beverage.
We don't need advice about how to rename the campaign and we don't need lectures that make suppositions about our motives; what we need is industry support to advocate for the product we love and the business in which we're engaged.
The views and opinions expressed in debate pieces are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the publication. They are intended to provoke discussion and debate. If you would like to offer your own response to this or any other article, please email the editor-in-chief, Anja Zimmer at zimmer@meininger.de.
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