NPR: Americans Are Drinking More During The Pandemic. Here’s How To Cut Back. “When the pandemic began spreading across the U.S. in March, stores, restaurants and schools closed down. But liquor stores in many parts of the U.S. were deemed essential and stayed open. Alcohol sales have ticked up during the pandemic, so maybe it’s a good time to ask yourself: Are you drinking more than you’d like to be?”
Government of Australia: Bottle label directory to protect wine industry. “Legislation passed parliament yesterday enabling Wine Australia to establish a Wine Export Label Directory to help wine brand owners protect their export wine labels against copycat labelling. Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said the passing of the Wine Australia Amendment (Label Directory) Act 2020 will lead to the creation of an online database of all Australian export wine labels.”
Mashable: It’s time to suck it up and do Zoom happy hours again. “At first, Zoom happy hours were novel. And fun! Next, they were an underwhelming necessity. An ‘it’s better than nothing’ option. Eventually, they became … boring. And a little bit depressing. Most of us just stopped doing them. This also happened to be around the same time we learned masked and socially distanced outdoor get togethers were relatively safe. But now it’s time again, folks. Suck it up and do Zoom happy hours again.”
City A.M.: Google searches for ‘takeaway pints’ rise 3,000% in a week. “Brits are missing the pub during the latest coronavirus lockdown, new research showed, as searches for reopening dates and takeaway pints rocketed during the first week of new restrictions. According to analysis of Google data, last week searches for ‘when can pubs reopen in England’ soared 2,501 per cent.”
CBC: Ottawa grandma finds her happy hour on Instagram. “An Ottawa grandmother has found a way to chase away her pandemic blues, one sip at a time. At 82, Donna Calcutt-Andrew is the star of her new Instagram page Cocktails with Grandma, which highlights her locally sourced cocktail hour drinks.”
The Guardian: Low and no-alcohol sales soar 30% in lockdown as UK drinking habits change. “From beers to spirits and even ready-to-drink cocktails, supermarket sales of no- and low-alcohol drinks have soared during lockdown as consumers become used to popping them into their trolleys with their grocery staples.”
WGRZ: Craving a craft brew? New website will tell you the best places in NYS to find one. “A new virtual passport will showcase and promote 200 craft breweries that closely surround the 750-mile Empire State Trail. The new website is a partnership between the Empire State Trail and the New York State Brewers Association. It encourages New Yorkers to visit breweries within ten miles of the trail which spans the entire state.”
Eater DC: In D.C., Dr. Fauci Inspires Trust, Calm, and a Popular Line of Pouched Cocktails. “Dr. Anthony Fauci’s face is everywhere, which explains why it popped into Rohit Malhotra’s head. As the nation’s leading expert on infectious disease, Fauci endeared himself to the public early on in the COVID-19 pandemic with his heavy Brooklyn accent, unassuming physique, and straight talk on the novel coronavirus. Over the past seven months, he has become a household name, a frequent guest on primetime news shows, inevitable meme fodder, and — thanks to Malhotra and his staff — the unwitting logo for a line of pouched cocktails that helped a Washington, D.C., bar stay open through a public health crisis that has been catastrophic for restaurants.”
New York Times: Mother’s Little Helper Is Back, and Daddy’s Partaking Too. “I have a yearslong WhatsApp message group with a handful of fellow mothers of small children from across the United States and Canada. Since the pandemic began, what I refer to as ‘mom chats after dark’ start at around 7:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. That’s when the children are asleep, and a wave of inebriation begins on the shores of the Atlantic and crashes across the continent. The above message was from July, when we hit 125 days of lockdown.”
Philadelphia Inquirer: Sonoma’s wineries embrace online sales, budget pricing to woo pandemic drinkers. “In the Sonoma Valley, home to 60,000 acres of grapes and 400 wineries, the pandemic has disrupted a 150-year-old supply chain. Grape growers that once focused on selling to high-end wineries are lowering their prices and supplying cheaper brands. Wineries that can no longer count on tourist visits are replacing in-person events with online campaigns. Restaurants that boasted expansive wine lists now tout their to-go cups.”
Stony Brook Statesman: SBU researchers use social media to study unhealthy drinking habits. “The study, in collaboration with professors from the University of Pennsylvania, is led by H. Andrew Schwartz, assistant professor of computer science at Stony Brook University. Schwartz’s team is trying to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) program that can scan social media data and use the recorded information to understand the users’ habits in order to predict their future behavior. In this case, the team is focusing on the ability to understand how mood and environment lead to unhealthy drinking behavior. Such behavior is defined as 14 drinks in a single week for a man, or seven drinks for a woman.”
The Drinks Business: Website launched to highlight BAME wine professionals. “The website, called BAME Wine Professionals, features people working in all corners of the sector, including sales, hospitality, marketing and PR, wholesale, winemaking, buying and logistics, as well as wine educators and communicators.”
