Industry Fights Back Against Anti-Alcohol Trends

The wine industry is facing a growing threat that could be considered a modern version of the Prohibition era, with $353 billion at stake globally. While this is not an outright ban like the one seen in the United States a century ago, alcohol consumption is coming under increasing scrutiny by younger generations and health authorities, which is negatively impacting the perception of wine. Movements like "Dry January" and "Sober October" have gained popularity in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, encouraging people to abstain from alcohol for the entire months of January and October. This trend has started to shape public policies and the image of wine as a safe and enjoyable beverage.

This change is also being seen in the revision of the United States Dietary Guidelines for the 2025-2030 period. Alcohol industry groups, such as the Wine Institute and the Brewers Association, have expressed concern over the potential reduction of moderate drinking recommendations to just two drinks per week, a significant shift from the current guideline of one drink per day for women and two for men. The presence of scientists with anti-alcohol views on the review committees has raised suspicions of bias, casting doubt on the objectivity of evaluating alcohol's health effects.

This issue is set against a backdrop where the perception of alcohol-related risks has increased significantly. Since 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) has stepped up its efforts to reduce global alcohol consumption, classifying alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, on par with tobacco and asbestos. Recent studies suggest there is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption, which has altered attitudes among consumers, particularly younger people. According to a survey by Wine Opinions and the Colangelo & Partners agency, 25% of individuals between 21 and 39 years old already consider one glass of wine per day to be problematic. If the new U.S. guidelines reduce the recommendation to two drinks per week, it is expected that two-thirds of young people will follow that standard, which would deal a severe blow to the wine industry.

Karen MacNeil, a wine journalist and author of The Wine Bible, was among the first to notice this cultural shift when her video titled "Why I Hate Dry January" received a wave of backlash on social media. MacNeil felt that the moralistic tone of the responses signaled a significant change in the narrative, positioning wine more as a health risk than as a symbol of culture and social enjoyment. As public perception shifts, the industry has begun to respond in various ways. In June of this year, a group of alcoholic beverage associations sent a letter to U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, expressing their concern over the lack of transparency in the selection of the committees overseeing the dietary guidelines.

Argentinian winemaker and physician Laura Catena has taken a different approach, creating the "In Defense of Wine" platform to defend wine with scientific evidence showing the benefits of moderate consumption on cardiovascular health and its ability to reduce the risk of strokes and diabetes in people over 40. Catena acknowledges that excessive drinking is dangerous, but she argues that studies demonizing any level of consumption are based on marginally increased risk data, as in the case of breast cancer.

In response to initiatives like Dry January, MacNeil and other industry professionals have launched "Come Over October," a cultural campaign promoting the idea of sharing a glass of wine with others to highlight wine's role as a symbol of friendship and hospitality. The campaign has been endorsed by major wineries and companies, including Jackson Family Wines, J. Lohr, and Lyft.

The conflict between the wine industry and the anti-alcohol movement is intensifying. As the debate evolves, how the true role of wine in people's lives is communicated will be crucial for the industry's future, which in the United States alone generates 1.84 million jobs and contributes $276 billion in economic impact. For now, the industry is not giving up and continues searching for ways to adapt its message to a cultural context that is becoming increasingly hostile.