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California farmers are struggling to sell grapes as demand for wine drops

389 points · 987 comments · randycupertino

alexandre_m · 1790644533 · focus · HN ↗
> while young people are drinking less alcohol due to health and financial concerns
My observation is that gen-z spends less time socializing in real life, and drinking remains a social habit for the most part at a younger age. While they drink less, cannabis, vaping and psychedelics are on the rise.
It's a nice claim to say they are more responsible, but it tells an incomplete story.
1. Reptur · 1790649637 · focus · HN ↗
  My guess people are more stressed. Gallup has Gen z drinking more spirits. Preferred drink Ages 18–34 Liquor / Spirits 38%, Beer 36%, Wine 24% <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/713534/americans-drinking-remains-record-low.aspx" rel="nofollow">https://news.gallup.com/poll/713534/americans-drinking-remai...
  1. noisy_boy · 1790655568 · focus · HN ↗
    Uneducated guess: wine is seen as more of an "older people's" drink making it uncool for gen-Z?
    klardotsh · 1790658817 · focus · HN ↗
    Or it's just bang-for-buck. If a bottle of vodka can be had for anywhere even vaguely in the ballpark of a bottle of wine (and at the grocery store scale, they often are: say, $15-20 for the wine and $20-30 for the vodka), then vodka (and maybe mixers) is gonna deliver a whole lot more intoxication per dollar.
    I guess I just wrote a much longer variation of "candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker", eh?
    (this is not drinking advice, folks: you'll do plenty more damage plenty faster with liquor, too)
    simoncion · 1790659405 · focus · HN ↗
    > ...you'll do plenty more damage plenty faster with liquor, too
    I'm skeptical. I don't see how there can be a meaningful difference [0] between a regular-strength sixteen ounce beer and one shot of regular-strength vodka mixed in with slightly less than sixteen ounces of water.
    I do agree that -because you're drinking far less fluid- it's far easier for those who aren't monitoring how much they drink to get massively intoxicated when drinking liquor rather than beer or wine.
    [0] ...other than taste, that is. Sixteen ounces of dilute vodka-water wouldn't be a joy to drink.
    notahacker · 1790664771 · focus · HN ↗
    I don't see people carefully mix their liquor in the exact same proportions as beer and then drinking at exactly the same rate, so your argument is about as relevant to real world drinking as "if you mix 5% strength beer with four parts water it's basically not going to get you drunk". With or without normal amounts of (typically sweet) mixer, spirits tend to lend themselves to faster consumption and the carbonation in beer also has the property of giving you that buzzy feeling (and that vomity feeling) earlier so you don't feel quite so much inclination to top up.
    simoncion · 1790668663 · focus · HN ↗
    ...did you bother to read my second paragraph?
    OneDeuxTriSeiGo · 1790676579 · focus · HN ↗
    Tbf I don't know many young people who'd pound screwdrivers. Like IDK how different things were in the past but back when I was in university (right up until covid) the drink of choice was straight liquor plus a chaser. Many a party were had around handles of whiskey, vodka, or rum with limited "mixing in".
    It was just outright more cost effective and as college students we just didn't have money for the alternative so most of the time it was hard liquor and maybe once a week we'd go out to drink and then it was mostly rail liquor mixed drinks or outright shots and shooters.
    simoncion · 1790682617 · focus · HN ↗
    > Tbf I don't know many young people who'd pound screwdrivers. ...
    Exactly. If you want to get fucked up, you drink it straight, or with minimal flavoring. If you want to drink on the cheap, you prep it in one of many "sane drinking" preparations, like a Screwdriver.

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