<p>I don’t really drink and the only wine in my house is a bottle of white bought cheaply at Trader Joes for cooking…</p>
<p>But it seems like recently all I hear about is wine, wine, wine. From parties to quiet moments at home, to a glass it seems every evening after dinner, to even the drink of choice at committee meetings (was on a committee for a classy school auction - no meeting seemed to be complete with out a bottle to share!)</p>
<p>Just curious -is wine the new beer? The new drink of choice for women? For younger people? </p>
<p>Bottles must be flying off the shelf it seems by the “talk” I hear on a regular basis!</p>
<p>What’s the draw and interest in wine??? (I understand the history of more fine wine - but surely the people drinking a glass or two every evening aren’t popping the cork on expensive bottles on a regular basis???)</p>
<p>Wine has been popular for a long time! I can remember drinking wine in college, and that was in the early 70s. My H and I have a glass of wine with dinner probably 4 or 5 times a week. We joined a wine club more than 30 years ago, which has grown into a wine purchasing cooperative with over 20,000 members. My H also buys wine futures, in addition to buying wine at our local premium wine shop. We have approximately 300 bottles of wine in our wine cellar.</p>
<p>In our house wine became popular in 1980 when we moved to California and would routinely have a glass of Chardonnay with our Brie. We still drink wine and/or beer every night. Red and/or white depending on what’s for dinner. Now we favor the 1.5 liter bottles for < $10.</p>
<p>It’s an interesting question. I was never much of a wine drinker, preferring to drink beers. But we recently took my S2 winetasting for his 21st birthday (his request) & I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Virginia wines. Since then, I have been tasting & trying to learn more about wine. </p>
<p>In VA we have seen a proliferation of wineries (140 -> 240) & microbreweries in the past 5-10 years. The breweries are doing very well & collecting numerous national awards. I’m not as familiar with awards for the wineries. But I have observed that the quality of VA wines has steadily improved in the past few years. A number of the wines are approaching CA in terms of quality. </p>
<p>My hypothesis is that competition has forced winemakers (international + domestic) to produce a better product and globalization has brought better wines to American markets. As we’ve begun to sample better wines, our interest in them has grown.</p>
<p>There are many health benefits to drinking red wine. It’s also gluten-free, which most beers are not. IMO decent wine is cheaper per serving than decent beer. (Bud & Miller Lite are not ‘decent beers’).</p>
<p>Also, there are so many different varieties of wine and it can be very social. No two people are going to like the exact same wine. Good wine also enhances the flavor of food. (Yes, beer does go well with some foods, but not all - you can typically find a wine to pair any food with. A friend of mine has a wine consulting business and has even paired wines with every variety of Girl Scout cookies!)</p>
<p>I think wine is becoming more popular as there is a much more decent selection of wine in an affordable price range. I so enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. We started drinking wine after we toured Napa. Then we were in Paris this summer and we couldn’t find a bad wine, they were all so reasonably priced. It was less expensive for us to buy wine than the soda my DD had to have. It just seems to compliment a meal so nicely.</p>
<p>I’ve been drinking wine more frequently because it’s “Less filling, Tastes great!” Oops, that was a Miller Lite commercial but it’s true. Does anyone know if the alcohol content is higher in wine than beer?</p>
<p>I think Lammb66 is on to something. I hardly ever gave wine a second thought until a friend introduced me to wines from Chile over ten years ago. There are duds but there are also very fine South American varieties that are quite a value. The health issue regarding red wine also got my attention. These days I really enjoy going to a wine shop to explore their inexpensive products from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Australia. I’ve rarely been disappointed.</p>
<p>For me, it’s a social thing. I don’t drink wine alone at home and mixed drinks are too strong for me. The funny thing is I grew up in a family that didn’t drink.</p>
<p>I agree with the others in that there are so many more variations on the market at a reasonable price that its a shame not to try them all Also the addition drumbeat of health professionals saying a glass a day is good for you doesn’t hurt!</p>
but it’s true. Does anyone know if the alcohol content is higher in wine than beer?</p>
Also the addition drumbeat of health professionals saying a glass a day is good for you doesn’t hurt!</p>![http://www.winebusiness.com/content/image/Fullscreen_capture_1232011_91624_PM-1.jpg[/url]](http://www.winebusiness.com/content/image/Fullscreen_capture_1232011_91624_PM-1.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
