Dry January... What’s that all about? As a wine enthusiast, importer and someone who has spent their life promoting wines, I feel I must voice my opinion on this 'trendy fad'. Wine is fundamentally a product for pleasure, so why choose what is usually the gloomiest time of the year to deny yourself what is one of life’s most natural and accessible pleasures. Drinking in moderation surely has to be the key. Can I suggest that if the followers of this 'trendy fad' are truly concerned about their wine intake, then why not abstain routinely for a number of days a week. Alcohol, since the year dot, has been valued for its ability to help us relax. With all the pressures and uncertainties of modern-day life, surely an aid to relaxation is not such a bad thing?
On a more serious and wine focused note, fads and trends are always going to Influence our drinking habits. Whether deliberately or unconsciously we are all influenced and susceptible to the pressures of what we read, hear and see. There is no doubt that we are prone to be weak-willed and gullible as we mimic those who inspire and influence us. The power of advertising. Music also has been proven to not only seduce us into a fantasy frame of mind but also influence us in our shopping habits. A leading market research company in the 80s was able to prove that by playing a music of a specific country down the aisle of a supermarket, it could inadvertently influence the sale of wines that related to that country’s music – with Germanic oom-pah music, up went the sales of German rieslings; the clatter of castanets and the vino of Espana flew off the shelves - you get the picture.
For those of a certain age, cast your mind back to the late 70s with the BBC’s hit series Brideshead Revisited. A hugely popular insight as to how the other half lives. Remember too the two leading characters with their insatiable thirst for sancerre. As a consequence, sales of this wine went through the roof, as indeed I am sure did the sales of teddy bears. If statistics are to be believed, when villain JR Ewing and his family ruled Dallas the total sales of chablis outstripped the actual amount of chablis produced. Our friends across the pond could not get enough of this wine, and the French producers were not going miss an opportunity. Currently we seem to be experiencing a fascination with 'the housewife’s ruin', namely gin. High profile and slick marketing has seen sales of gin rocket. Mark my words the next big thing will be rum - now we are talking.
There can be no doubt that the greatest tangible factors when monitoring our wine fads is food. Whilst the classic styled wines will always be sought by their loyal devotees, many of today’s foodies are eager to find wines that complement their food. With access to foreign travel and endless food programmes on the telly, one is so aware that food and wines are intrinsically linked. As an importer we continue to see ever-growing growth and demand for the wines of Europe. Wines that are appreciated for their restraint and elegance, wines that tend to complement rather than overwhelm the modern style of international cuisine. Whatever your personal preferences are in wines, people like me are always happy to help and advise, admittedly with our own bias. Whatever pressure you might feel is there to coax and influence your buying habits, try as many of the options as you can and draw your own conclusions. You are always right.