In 2010, then California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law AB1798, which mandated conjunctive labeling of Sonoma County-made wines to include both their American Viticultural Area (AVA) designation and “Sonoma County” on their labels.
It was proudly seen as a boon for the local wine industry. Now, that same label may soon include a surgeon general’s warning that wine causes cancer.
Earlier this month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new advisory highlighting the connection between alcohol consumption and a higher risk of cancer. Alcohol use ranks as the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, following tobacco use and obesity, and is linked to an increased risk for at least seven different types of cancer.
To wit, as one of his final acts under the outgoing Biden administration, Murthy has called for cancer warnings to be added to alcoholic beverages in a manner akin to cigarette packaging. For imbibers who may be reevaluating their rates of consumption, it’s enough to make the sober-curious sober-furious.
Thanks to the popularity of the so-called French Paradox (the theory that wine consumption may contribute to lower rates of coronary heart disease in France despite a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol) and resveratrol (a naturally occurring compound in red wine once believed to have health benefits), many bought into the notion that—in moderation—drinking wine could be a healthy lifestyle choice. This, at best, is a medical misapprehension and, worse, marketing.
Younger generations may already have intuited this possibility. In recent years, there has been a generational trend away from alcohol in general and wine in particular. This past September, The Guardian ran a story headlined, “Stuffy, unhealthy or ‘just mid’—are young people over wine?”
“The surgeon general’s announcement underscores a growing awareness that alcohol consumption can have negative health impacts,” said Sean Goldsmith, CEO and co-founder of Atlanta-based The Zero Proof, a maker of non-alcoholic wines and spirits. “At The Zero Proof, we’re not only seeing interest from those who abstain entirely but also from a rising number of consumers who are choosing to drink in moderation and want more sophisticated options.”
Goldsmith says 90% of The Zero Proof’s customers are alcohol drinkers seeking healthier alternatives—and 60% of those are women, with the majority being millennials between the ages of 28 and 43.
What does this portend for the wine industry as boomers, who once drove the wine market, ride into the sauvignon blanc sunset?
In a 2023 interview published in wine trade publication Meininger’s International, wine industry expert Steve Melchiskey, president of importer USA Wine West, said that Gen X has begun to outdrink the once flush and lush baby boomers.
“They recently became the demographic that consumes the most wine, taking the title from the aging boomer generation,” said Melchiskey. “While their numbers are small, they punch far above their weight class in terms of wine consumption.” And even Gen X is beginning to heed the shift.
Founded by David Risher, the 50-year-old CEO of Lyft, Napa-based Tomorrow Cellars launched its first non-alcoholic wine in time for practitioners of Dry January—the annual month-long challenge to abstain from alcohol. Tomorrow Cellars’ press materials use words like “present” and “engaged,” reflecting consumers’ increasing desire not to be out of their skulls in social contexts. Perhaps this is just marketing speak, but one thing is for sure—non-alcoholic wines don’t require cancer warning labels.
