The Whole Point
On wine, beauty, and remembering why we do this.
There’s a TikTok/Reels trend going around lately; maybe you’ve seen it.
These videos show a montage of the beautiful, quiet moments in a person’s life: morning light on a kitchen table, a friend laughing at dinner, a breeze moving through the trees.
And over it, a simple line of text reads, “I almost forgot this is the whole point.”
And every single time these videos come up on my feed, I stop and watch them start to finish.
Because, as someone who works in and around wine, I feel that tug in my chest when I see these sweet videos. I feel the yearning I experienced the first time I watched a sunset over a vineyard or heard the quiet snips of the clippers and rumble of the tractor at my first night harvest.
It’s SO easy to forget, especially lately, that wine is an inherently romantic thing.
The brutal headlines and the difficult conversations about alcohol, health, labor, and injustice, have made it so fucking hard to remember why wine matters.
Wine offers us a compelling reason to gather. It’s often the centerpiece of lingering meals and quiet toasts. It is culturally important, history in a glass, geography you can taste!
It is art made by hands that consumers rarely see.
And Yes, We Need to Talk About All of It
Before moving further into this conversation, I don’t want us to forget that wine contains alcohol. It is not for everyone, and can in fact be quite harmful for some folks. Acknowledging that doesn’t diminish wine’s value.
We also shouldn’t gloss over the labor that goes into every bottle and the (overwhelmingly) immigrant hands that pick the fruit, the cellar crews working long hours in harvest, and the supply chain we depend on.
We shouldn’t pretend wine is apolitical, either. Especially not now. It is tied to land, climate, migration and labor policy, to community health, and culture identity. When we romanticize wine without acknowledging these realities, we flatten its story. To ignore those things is to ignore what makes wine meaningful in the first place.
I’d argue that wine is important because of all of those things.
Because what we’re really selling goes beyond this beverage.
We are selling connection and ritual. And that’s the whole point.
We don’t want to glorify overconsumption or discount the difficult emotions that the topic of wine can bring up in others. We do want to honor the moments that remind us we’re human. Beauty still exists and that it often shows up around the table.
So when I think about what kind of things I want wineries to share on social media or in their marketing emails it’s really not “bottle porn” and tasting notes, let’s be SO real right now.
I and the people you’re trying to sell your wine to want to see hands. Laughter. Dirt. Community.
And if you’re wondering how to actually show that, here are a few places to start:
Celebrate the human moments. Post a short clip of your vineyard crew taking a break, teasing each other, or the team sharing a meal during harvest.
Tell the whole story. If you must talk about the wine, don’t stop at the tasting notes. Talk to me about who made it, where it came from, and what went into getting it there. What challenges did you have in bringing this wine to, (forgive the pun) fruition?
Use your platform for more than promotion. Highlight the labor behind the bottle. Tag and thank your farmworkers and cellar team. Uplift other small producers, local businesses, or advocacy groups.
Be transparent and proactive. If your winery is taking steps toward sustainability, fair labor, or mindful alcohol messaging, share that, not for the kudos and greenwashing but for accountability.
Offer space, not pressure. Remind your audience that enjoying wine can be as simple as one glass with someone they love and that opting out is valid, too. (Note: I’ve been really loving seeing wine bars and breweries offering n/a options for those wishing to opt out for whatever reason but who still want to enjoy these “third places.” I think more wineries could be doing that, too.)
The more we ground our marketing in care for the people who make wine and the people who drink it, the closer we get to doing this whole fucking thing with integrity.
So, anyways, to round this whole thing out… next time you're wondering what to post:
Don’t forget what the whole point is.