WE’VE LOST OUR FREAKIN’ MINDS
So, Stop the (Wine) World, I (May) Want to Get Off
By Alan Goldfarb
June 10, 2024 
Item: During WWII, attitudes began to shift in the latter half of the occupation. New Vichy policies forbade the advertising of alcohol and levied heavy taxes.
Item: Some dummkopf wants to ban alcohol on planes saying, “in order to prevent heart attacks.”
Item: 20-somethings think even one drop of alcohol, “is poison”.
Item: Vineyards are shrinking
Item: Wine drinking is down
Item: Major wine magazine kaput
WTF!
Does this mean we’re really doomed?
Those of us who are cynics or pessimists, think that it looks that way. But don’t count me as one of those; although I’ll cop to being a realist. Are we going to have to go through a frickin’ domestic war to come out the other side so that we can begin advertising alcohol again? (Oh, wait, they’re tellin’ me we already do.)
And if I can’t drink in a tin can whilst hurdling through turbulence, I’m not flying. I’d rather stay tethered to the ground and take my turbulence like a real guy. But first, pass me the damned wine.
And what of those Gen Zers being touted off alcohol? Them Imposter burgers might not be poison like a thimble full of wine is, but it sure does taste better. Be honest, doesn’t it? (I mean the latter, not the former.)
Shrinking vineyards and shrinking wine consumption? In this case (the latter of which might be a myth; only the non-neos know for sure), the former is leading to the latter; which might go to the latter two items above.
As for that last item delineated above, it concerns me the most because that means one less media outlet for me to connect with on behalf of my winery clients; and which really should concern you all, too. The demise of the venerable Wine & Spirits Magazine, is a real-life symptom and indicator of where American society languishes today.
More Journalists
As illustration -- albeit a small sample size (although my t-shirt in question here is an XL) -- I am very fond of wearing a shirt that reads: What America Needs Are More Journalists. I can report that that tee evokes more “Love that shirt” and “I agree” comments than any other I wear. Save for my Ron Carter shirt (look him up).
Which means that many of us know (hopefully it’s more than half) how important and fundamental it is to our democracy to have a flourishing, vibrant and vital Fourth Estate in the U.S. It is the Fourth Estate you know, that holds the other three estates accountable for their actions. (You can look it up. It’s in the Constitution.)
So, what does this all mean? What is it about these items, whose end-games are an obvious attempt at curtailing our movements, our desires, our proclivities, our thinking, our very freedoms? Why do they care what we do with our bodies (all of our bodies)? Can it be to control us. To f—-k with us? To manipulate us?
You bet.
Item: Don’t let the religious zealots (all of them), the neo-Prohibitionists, the dummkopfs, control us! To that I say, lift a glass high to US and exclaim, Not in my name.