Beer & Wine

Beer continues to be bashed in polls about what Americans drink.

According to recent Gallup results, 20-year trend away from beer and toward wine continues.

In early 1990s, 71 percent of adults said they drank beer most often. Today, 41 percent do so.

As result of dramatically changing preferences, wine now is virtually tied with beer as alcoholic drink of choice in America.

The vino stampede is more pronounced in non-white Americans, although it occurs among all demographic groups. The divide between men and women remains, although there, too, wine is winning, even pulling away.

Currently, 53 percent of men name beer as favorite drink, followed by liquor at 22 percent and wine at 20 percent. Women are mirror image, with 52 percent naming wine as favored alcoholic beverage, followed by liquor at 24 percent and beer at 20 percent.

While males still prefer beer guzzling over wine sipping, game is changing. Male preference for beer is down by 11 points in past two decades. Same time, female preference for wine is increasing—by whopping 18 percent—at expense of beer.

Gallup reports some 60 percent of Americans regularly enjoy alcoholic drinks. Almost all key groups are shifting from beer to wine, with greatest shift coming from younger Americans and minorities, a trend that must bedevil brewers.

Beer still reigns as preferred alcoholic beverage in America, but where once brews boasted unqualified dominance, now brews only hop out marginal win. Wine’s time cometh. Brewmasters control your wrath of grapes. Mugs and stemware should happily coexist.

Tasting notes:

  • Llano Estacado Gewürztraminer 2013: Moscato style (plenty of residual sugar sweetness and consequent low alcohol); plenty of fruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple; low acidity, teeny spritz, spice hint; late-harvest desert wine rather than dry, high-alcohol effort gewurz can achieve; pairs with spicy Asian, Indian dishes; Texas value. $9
  • Trimbach Gewürztraminer Alsace 2012: Lemon flowers, rose petals, pinch of pine on vivid nose; dry, hint of fruit sweetness; deliciously clean, traces of minerality; melon, apricot, pink grapefruit, sprinkles of spice; acidity and firm texture make this extremely food friendly; 14 percent alcohol; classic Old World gewurz. $21

Last round: I am wine enthusiast. The more wine I drink, more enthusiastic I become.