Why ‘sober curious’ misses the point
The “sober curious” movement claims mindfulness belongs to abstinence. But for wine lovers, few experiences are more mindful than a glass savoured with care and intention.
I have never understood the term sober curious. It’s the kind of phrase that seems at odds with itself. What’s curious about sobriety? People are sober about being sober. Sober seems more serious than curious.
In an article which appears on its website, the National Institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism defines sober curious as a movement that “focuses on a more mindful approach” to alcohol consumption.
Okay, but the implication that alcohol consumption is somehow de facto not “mindful” seems wrong to me.
Why wine lovers may be the most mindful drinkers
As a wine drinker, I am nothing if not mindful. In fact, wine drinkers like me are good-naturedly teased (and parodied in New Yorker cartoons) for our seemingly inexhaustible ability to think about wine, savour its flavours, mull over its character, ponder its mysteries, reflect on its complexities – in short, wrap our minds around it in just about every way imaginable. No one is more mindful than a wine drinker.
Continuing on the NIAAA website, I learn that the sober curious movement began in 2019 and that at its core is well-being.
Partner Content
Well, as it happens, well-being has been at the core of moderate wine drinking for millennia. As a communal beverage, wine has often been part of the social fabric, bringing people together and fostering friendship and family togetherness.
Maybe I’m being defensive, but it seems to me that many of the attributes ascribed to abstaining from alcohol are perversely attributes that can be ascribed to drinking wine.
And herein lies the problem. By co-opting terms like “mindful” and “well-being,” concepts like sober curiosity set up a binary, black-and-white model whereby alcohol must be “unmindful” and “unhealthy.”
But what’s unmindful and unhealthy is binge drinking, drunkenness and alcohol abuse. Not moderate wine drinking.
Curious about wine – and about life
For my part, I will remain curious – curious about wine, about the miraculous ways in which it reflects Nature and gives voice to the earth. Curious about its capacity to give joy. Curious about the ways it enhances everyday life, one thoughtful sip at a time.
Karen MacNeil is the author of The Wine Bible and cofounder of Come Over October.
Related news
Butcombe Brewing Co sees surge in no and low alcohol sales
Asia's irresistible rise of no and low cocktail menus
How low and no alcohol brands are reviving football shirt culture in Spain
