Is Come Over October the Wine Industry’s Latest Hot Take?

this latest iteration of the wine industry proselytizing to itself could further alienate a new generation of consumers.   

This is the first part in a series that will be published during October.

If you work in the wine industry – particularly in the United States – you’ve likely heard of the Come Over October campaign. It was created earlier this year by wine writer Karen MacNeil after she learned of Sober October’s existence (it launched a decade ago as a fundraiser), partnering with wine marketers Kimberly Charles and Gino Colangelo to spread the word.

The issue Come Over October aims to solve? Dry January and Sober October create a “binary” of either being sober or drunk, and wine’s communal nature is being eroded.

Unsurprisingly, especially with the ongoing decline in global wine consumption, many major wine associations and organizations jumped on board to support the campaign. We’re talking heavy hitters such as Wine America, Napa Valley Vintners, Wine Enthusiast and the National Association of Wine Retailers, as well as international wine boards such as Wine Australia and the Champagne Bureau, to name a few.

But as both a wine professional and millennial, I couldn’t help but think this was another case of the wine industry proselytizing to itself – with no true consideration of the root cause or how wine must adapt to generational shifts in consumption.

Part 1: Moderation and Sobriety are New Norms for Real Reasons

One of the points raised by the Sober October campaign is that “wine has devolved to a discussion solely about alcohol.” As a student of wine and individual who loves wine for its cultural and historical relevancy, I can empathize with this gripe. But this is very much a viewpoint through the lens of fine wine. A main reason for abstaining from alcohol is cost related, in fact the second cited reason after health and wellness. If people are struggling to put on a meal on the table, they likely aren’t concerned with a fine wine to commune with around it. 

And the truth of the matter is: wine, at whatever price point, does contain alcohol. And alcohol – in whatever form – has and can objectively ruin lives.  

For instance, each day in the US, close to 40 individuals die in alcohol-impaired automobile accidents. In domestic abuse incidents, alcohol’s altering of dopamine and serotonin release in the brain is proven to increase aggressive individuals’ likelihood of committing violent crimes.

In fact, the wine industry saw its own reckoning with alcohol and problematic behavior in 2020, when several women stepped forward after experiencing sexual harassment by members of the Court of Master Sommeliers, with many of the instances involving drinking.

There is an inherent loosening when it comes to consuming alcohol – for some people that can be the positive experience of relaxation. For others, it can be a spectrum of loss of control. That loss of control can manifest as something innocuous as saying something you didn’t mean, or something as life-altering and traumatic.

And today, with a looming climate crisis, ever-rising cost of living, corporate distrust, general political dissatisfaction and an overall lack of leadership, what we put into our bodies and when feels like one of the few things we can control. Over half of US drinkers have cut down on their alcohol consumption, according to the IWSR in August 2023. In the same analyses, IWSR reported that one-third of legal drinkers in the US hadn’t consumed alcohol at all in the past six months.

Social media and the influence of therapy in reimagining what it means to take responsibility for one’s actions is another layer that must be considered. I would venture to guess that most people have personally done something that they regret while drinking, or have experienced a negative situation involving a friend or family member while they were drinking.

This used to be a fact of life – something that was experienced and learned from – or not. But today, one’s actions can be documented and shared for the world to see in real time, or drudged up from the immortal Internet machine. For the masses to analyze, pass judgment on and weigh the harm.

Just as much as we are experiencing generational shifts in drinking habits, we are experiencing a societal overhaul in what is and is not acceptable behavior moving forward.

Sobriety is a deeply personal choice. The wine industry is doing itself no favors by trying to “combat” a movement of people exercising control over their bodies and behaviors.

While the Come Over October campaign has seemed to walk back some of its anti-Sober October messaging, and even included a non-alcoholic wine as part of the campaign, the timing simply feels unnecessary.

I understand the wine industry’s feeling to mobilize against anti-alcohol messaging, and to a degree, I also understand the conflation of anti-alcohol sentiments and sobriety. In a second (and possibly third) installment of this series, I’ll talk about how sobriety and the so-called Neo-Prohibitionist Movement is a result of correlation, not causation. I’ll also discuss some ways that the wine industry could truly begin meeting younger generations where they are, instead of trying to shape them in the drinking habits of years past.

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