The Wine Attack on Sober October

Issue Seven

There is a battle brewing over the month of October.

Quite literally.

October wears many hats. Libra season. Pumpkin spice lattes. Leaf peeping. Halloween decorations. It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month and also National Pizza Month. 

It lays claim to Cinnamon Roll Day, whatever that is, and is filled with many back to school nights and holiday card photo shoots. It's the quintessential kickoff to Autumn, as we have said goodbye to the craziness of September and settled into our routines. Something like that, at least. 

For the past decade-plus, it has also been Sober October, a month-long challenge where participants abstain from alcohol. But there is a group that wants to change that by advocating that you drink more in October because that’s what brings people together.

Sober October V. Come Over October

Sober October has grown as a movement deemed by society as yet another break from our overly boozed culture. Like Dry January, the idea is to spend the 31 days sans wine and cocktails, allowing your liver to reset, the caloric load to decrease, the brain to think more clearly, and to watch all the beautiful things that happen to you when you aren't filling your body with a toxic substance.

Strong statement from a wine girl, I realize.

I love my Champs, but I know exactly what I do when I drink. It’s like coffee. We all have our vices. I also understand that my skin, hair, nails, and figure greatly benefit from the occasional pause in wine consumption. Plus, you know, my organs.

The wine industry, though, doesn't want you to ever see that the grass is sometimes greener on the other side. In reaction to Sober October, some big names in the wine industry have launched a campaign, Come Over October, described as “a month-long campaign highlighting the positive attributes of wine and moderate wine consumption, encouraging and fostering connections among people.”

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“The wine industry is scared shitless because people have been drinking less wine.”

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In other words, come-over-and-drink-wine October, come-over-and-drink-wine-because-it's-the-only-way-to-build-community October, come-over-because-community-is-about-drinking October.

They even bought a billboard in Times Square to champion their message.

Essentially Come Over October wants you to drink and drink more, which in context and out of context is just...bad. Why are we promoting drinking more? Why are we saying it’s the way to encourage community? Why are we attacking people for wanting to take a break from drinking?