There is a lot of work to do to restore wine to the place (in the market, in society) that many of us believe it deserves. Here in America, for example, we have recently concluded the successful launch of Come Over October, a program that seeks to replace the image of wine as dangerous alcohol with the idea of wine as an integral part of healthy and satisfying lifestyles.

What I liked best about Come Over October 2024 was that it provided a broad umbrella that wineries and wine regions big and small used to reach out to their customers. By seizing the opportunity, wineries and others generated a grassroots buzz. It is a very good beginning. The question now is, what next?

The headwinds that wine faces are global, not just local, and come from several points of the compass. So it is a good sign that Come Over October is not an isolated response. I want to draw your attention to two international movements that seek to advance wine’s agenda on different levels and in different ways.

VITÆVINO Declaration

Wine is threatened both from below (diminished consumer appreciation) and above (neo-prohibitionist government policies). Come Over October is meant to address the former problem. In Europe, a movement called VITÆVINO has been mobilized in part to take on the latter. The program is supported from above by powerful European industry groups (Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins, Confédération Européenne des Vignerons Indépendants. Copa-Cogeca and European Federation of Origin Wines), but also seeks to draw support from grassroots advocates.

Wine’s essential identity is under attack, according to VITÆVINO, and it is important to take action.

Wine is facing a significant existential threat as a growing anti-alcohol movement increasingly seeks to demonize alcoholic beverages. The responsible and moderate consumption of wine — which is the way the overwhelming majority of wine consumers enjoy it — is being stigmatised by the removal of the distinction between alcohol abuse and the moderate wine consumption within a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Policy-makers, wine industry professionals, and wine-loving citizens are invited to sign the VITÆVINO Declaration in order to protect and preserve wine’s cultural role, value its socio-economic impact, and to give voice to moderation.

VITÆVINO went live on October 1 (what is it about October?). About 10,000 individuals (some of whom can be seen in this collection of video presentations) have signed the declaration so far, mainly in Europe but around the world, too, including a few in America. Significantly, some of the first to sign were elected members of the European Parliament, where alcohol regulation is an important issue.

The discussions that produced VITÆVINO began several years ago when European wine industry leaders realized that the wine industry was being increasingly attacked by anti-alcohol forces. Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, general secretary of the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins, determined that an organized two-prong approach was needed, both political action at the national and EU level and also the development of broad-based grassroots support for wine culture and the wine industry.

This campaign invites everyone — from wine producers and exporters to sommeliers, bartenders, policymakers, and wine lovers alike — to unite in support of wine. It encourages participants to defend a product that embodies agricultural heritage, cultural legacy, and a symbol of conviviality. Together, we assert the right to enjoy wine in moderation, preserving its legacy and securing its future.

The next step is to broaden and deepen the movement by encouraging more stakeholders around the world to sign the VITÆVINO declaration, making it a true global movement, and to forge alliances with other groups such as Fondo Vitivinícola Mendoza in Argentina and Come Over October in the United States.

Looking ahead, our plan is to gather as many signatures as possible to amplify the voices of those advocating for wine worldwide and to create a united platform for wine supporters globally.

Beyond our ambition to expand both numerically and geographically, we aim to build a network grounded in shared goals and values. To start, the campaign’s results will be presented at the European Parliament in mid-January 2025, hosted by MEPs. We also encourage everyone in our field to feature VITÆVINO at wine and agricultural events with a dedicated stand or corner. Additionally, we are developing an art-based project to further support our mission, with details to be shared soon through our dedicated channels.

Wine in Moderation

Come Over October and VITÆVINO are both relatively recent initiatives, but Wine in Moderation traces its history back to 2007-2008. Originally focused on Europe to provide a countervailing voice to neo-prohibitionist policies and rhetoric. It is now a global movement, although it has not caught fire here in America yet.

When I mention Wine in Moderation to my friends in California, they seem to roll their eyes (maybe it is just my imagination). I think what they hear is Wine in MODERATION and wonder why in the world they would want to tell people to drink less wine. But the intended message, as I understand it, is WINE in Moderation, promoting wine as a natural element of a healthy lifestyle.

A 2019 Wine Economist column asked, “What Can We Learn from the Wine in Moderation Movement?” The answer, in part, was this.

Wine in Moderation movement members are given the tools they need to spread the word, which is a model that could work here in the U.S. Leadership is needed, of course, but it seems to me that our many regional wine associations and wine companies, too, would benefit from bringing a coordinated message into their diverse communications programs.

I can imagine a program with a general message agreed at a high level, but implemented with creative local twists and turns by the dozens of regional wine associations around the U.S. Such a plan would share the creative energy (and cost) while leveraging wine’s broad and diverse base.

Work together? Is that realistic? Well, what’s the alternative? In Europe, as George Sandeman said, the alternative was being regulated like tobacco. The alternative here in the U.S. might be a  gradual (and then sudden) wine market bust.

Obviously I was skeptical when I wrote those words back in 2019 that the industry could come together to address market challenges, but recent events in the U.S. and across the global wine patch make me more optimistic.

Will Come Over October, the VITÆVINO Declaration, Wine in Moderation, and other initiatives solve the wine world’s problems? Silver bullets are hard to find and hope is not a strategy. Much hard work is required and strength in numbers is welcome, too. It is a good thing that many individuals and groups are tackling the problem on different levels and in different ways.

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Thanks to George Sandeman for alerting me to the VITÆVINO Delaration project and to Susana Garcia Dolla for introducing me to Wine in Moderation a few years ago when we were both speakers at a meeting in Porto.  Special thanks to Gaya Ducceschi, Head of Wine & Society and Communication for CEEV for answering my questions about VITÆVINO (some of which are quoted in the text above).