Intimate Ritual of Sharing a Bottle of Wine Is Fading

Ali Domrongchai thinks most of her fellow Gen Z cohorts might be missing out on the benefits of an age-old ritual: sharing a bottle of wine. In a piece for Wine Enthusiast, Domrongchai writes that the practice is fading away among her generation for a number of reasons, including the big one that young people drink less than previous generations. But Domrongchai suggests that those focused on the health benefits of abstinence might be overlooking the health benefits of social connection. Uncorking a bottle means that those imbibing are going to be there for a while, that the night might go longer than initially planned, and that may not sit well with a "culture hellbent on optimization."

It's too bad, writes Domrongchai, who interviews several 20-somethings, as well as experts in the field, including wine educator Tyler Balliet. "If you're sitting down and sharing a bottle of wine with somebody, you're able to focus on them, not your phone," says Balliet. "Not the room. Them." What's more, a glass of wine can loosen people up, and help them relax and open up. Even the tiny rituals involved mean something: "Refilling the same glass. Checking in: another pour? Splitting the last pour. These micro-negotiations build intimacy not through grand gestures, but through attentiveness," writes Domrongchai. Read the full piece, in which the author sees all of the above as a chance to experience something rare these days: "the willingness to slow down and linger."