A Question of Drinks

Natural wine has attracted vitriol, mean-spirited editorials and plenty of controversy. One of our listeners wrote in to ask why all the angst, and the hosts use it as a springboard to map the movement’s rise, backlash, and commercial co-option. Felicity sketches the history from Beaujolais and the “Gang of Four,” through the Parker era reaction, NOMA’s catalytic influence, and the media flashpoints that framed natural wine as an oppositional identity. 

Lulie and Felicity also define what natural wine is, how it’s produced and the role of additives like sulphur dioxide. And they also discuss consumer perceptions and how consumer psychology can harden snap judgements into prejudice.

They then stress-test today’s narratives, from the beginning of the movement to today. Verdict: the movement reshaped wine culture and writing, but its successes and excesses now coexist. Better farming and more experimental styles on one side, muddled claims and unpredictable quality on the other.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.

While Lulie and Felicity are busy writing the scripts for the new episodes, here's a repeat of one of our most downloaded episodes to date, asking that all-important question of why you can only get wine in big formats.

If everybody is moderating their wine intake, then how come there aren’t more small wine bottles on the shelf? And what would it take to put them there?

In this episode of A Question of Drinks, join hosts Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter as they explore why wine continues to be sold in those standard 750ml bottles. And who decided it should be 750 ml in the first place?

Come on a journey into wine history, into a world of glass blowers, Biblical figures, show-offs and vending machines. Along the way the hosts explore bag-in-box, aluminium cans, and whether there’s really a bottle called the Goliath or whether it’s just an urban myth.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.

Lulie and Felicity are going on holiday! And so have re-uploaded one of our most commented-upon episodes, for new listeners.

Pink wine is everywhere. On supermarket shelves, on Instagram, and clutched in the hands of celebrities. If there is a single defining wine of the 21st Century, it has to be rosé.

How did this pink wine go from being considered an icon of 70s kitsch to a celebrity diva?

In this episode of Drinks Insider, hosts Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter delve into the fascinating world of rosé wine, looking at the economic, social, and technological forces that have made rosé wine such a hit.

From novel cooling systems to Instagram, the story of rosé is one of quirky changes that have had major consequences. Tracing the story from Portugal to Provence to the world, this is a story about how and why rosé became an unstoppable trend.

[00:05:28] Is the rosé wine boom here to stay — or just a fad?

[00:13:00] The surprising truth about global rosé consumption 

[00:18:17] How changes in technology led to the unstoppable rise of rosé 

[00:27:12] The role of Provence

[00:35:06] How Instagram fuelled a wine boom

Got a question for us? Email us at [email protected] and it might just become our next episode.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly. 

Celebrity drinks are nothing new — they’ve been around for the past couple of centuries. But today’s star-backed bottles are more strategic than ever, blending personal branding with product placement. In this episode we look at where the phenomenon started, the different ways celebrities attach themselves to drinks, and the very real influence they can have on whole categories — for better or worse. We pull apart the success stories of Casamigos, Aviation Gin, and Miraval, and contrast them with high-profile disasters like Trump Vodka and the Bud Light backlash.

Along the way we unpick why some famous faces fit perfectly with their chosen tipple while others misfire badly, and how audience perception, authenticity, and timing determine whether a brand becomes a category leader or a cautionary tale. Expect historic gossip, marketing missteps, and the occasional marketing masterstroke as we ask the question: when you buy a celebrity drink, are you buying a great product or just the story on the label?

08:38 Roman vineyards and medieval popes as early examples of celebrity-linked wine.

10:43 The halo effect and why famous names can boost perceived quality.

12:49 Lily Langtry’s 19th-century California wine parties as a precursor to modern celebrity branding.

14:49 Defining celebrity in the modern age and how fame can be manufactured.

20:24 The three main types of celebrity drinks involvement — founder, co-creator, and endorser.

26:58 How Casamigos tequila and Aviation Gin boosted their categories before selling for huge sums.

28:28 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Miraval and its role in premiumising rosé.

31:00 The Trump Vodka catastrophe.

34:37 The Bud Light disaster, a horror show in slow motion. 

Got a question for us? Email us at [email protected] and it might just become our next episode.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly. 

Why does the same wine taste magical on holiday but boring when you open it at home? Felicity and Lulie unpack the fascinating mix of physiology, psychology, and culture that shapes our experience of flavour. From the mechanics of taste buds and retronasal smell to the cultural lexicons we use to describe flavour, they reveal why context is as important as chemistry.

Drawing on cutting‑edge research in sensory science, food psychology, and wine training, the hosts explore everything from genetic taste differences and airline wine selection to the role of branding, price, and expectation. If you’ve ever wondered why that charming wine you bought on holiday disappoints in your kitchen (or why wine critics sometimes seem to be speaking a different language), this episode explains why.

Taste is only about 20% tongue and 80% aroma, thanks to retronasal smell.

Our brains struggle to name aromas because smell evolved before language.

Genetic differences mean some people can’t detect key wine aromas, like violets.

Chinese wine drinkers describe flavours with culturally familiar terms, not Western fruits.

Super tasters experience bitterness more intensely but aren’t automatically better at wine tasting.

Training doesn’t give you more taste buds; it tunes your brain to notice relevant aromas.

Experiments show the same wine tastes “better” if presented as expensive.

Airline wine service adapts to taste dulling at altitude with bold, balanced styles.

Branding, labelling, and even background music measurably alter taste perception.

Wine quality is real, but our experience of it is filtered through mood, culture, and expectation.

Developing a Chinese lexicon for wine: https://marketingscience.info/wine/trade-articles/developing-chinese-lexicon-wine/

Got a question for us? Email us at [email protected] and it might just become our next episode.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly. 

In this episode of A Question of Drinks, Felicity and Lulie continue their deep dive into Gen Z drinking habits. Is this generation truly rejecting alcohol — or are they just broke?

Leaving no stone unturned, they dissect commercial reports from Barclays, Rabobank, and IWSR, comparing them with public health research that claims Gen Z is fundamentally different from previous generations. Discover how social media, economic pressures, and delayed adulthood are shaping drinking patterns.

From Tinto de Verano cocktails made with cheap Pinot Noir to boarding school rebellions and prawn cocktail crisps, this episode blends hard data with sharp conversation. The hosts discuss:

Join Felicity and Lulie as they ask: Is the drinks industry doomed or simply changing shape?

In this episode:

04:43 Gen Z alcohol decline described as a long-term cultural shift

05:46 Alcohol losing its use as a tool of rebellion for Gen Z

12:50 Social media driving Gen Z to self-monitor and reduce drinking

15:10 Social media replacing alcohol’s role in making it easier to meet people

16:02 Asahi CEO links alcohol decline to rise of digital entertainment

21:04 Barclays predicts Gen Z alcohol spend will rise with disposable income

22:58 Rabobank says Gen Z drinks less not because they’re worried about health, but because they’re broke

31:00 IWSR data shows Gen Z alcohol consumption rebounding post-pandemic

34:44 Gen Z prefers temporary abstinence over long-term reduction

47:47 But it’s possible the cultural meaning of alcohol is changing despite sales data

Got a question for us? Email us at [email protected] and it might just become our next episode.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly. 

It’s the question of the moment: why is Gen Z drinking less alcohol? Academics are wondering, banks are wondering, and the drinks trade doesn’t know what to think.

In the first episode of a two-part deep dive, Felicity and Lulie tackle this hotly debated question head one. In Part One, they examine a major new academic study, Young People, Alcohol and Risk: A Culture of Caution, which argues that Gen Z's attitudes to alcohol mark a generational shift, not just a life stage delay. 

From risk-aversion to the rise of the Clean Girl Aesthetic, this episode explores what might be behind the dramatic fall in drinking across high-income countries — and whether it's really as new as people think. Along the way, expect Lidl wine tastings, boxing metaphors, rage-baiting influencers, and a brief moment of intergenerational defensiveness.

This episode covers:

Got a question for us? Email us at [email protected] and it might just become our next episode.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly. 

Felicity and Lulie investigate the murky world of wine and spirits fraud — from harmless fakes to lethal counterfeits.

They start with historic wine scandals that rocked Austria and Italy in the 1980s, where illicit additives led to injury and even death. From there, they explore the modern world of counterfeiting: billionaires tricked by fake Romanée-Conti, questionable Thomas Jefferson bottles, and the infamous case of Rudy Kurniawan, whose kitchen doubled as a counterfeit factory.

Lulie introduces her framework for understanding deception in drinks — “fake, fraud or faux” — and the duo discuss how fakes can turn up anywhere, as in the case of $10,000 fake whisky served in a luxury Swiss hotel.

Also covered:

Counterfeit bulk wine sold as French

The Gallo Pinot Noir scandal

Methanol poisoning in Southeast Asia

Why counterfeit spirits can blind or kill

Efforts to authenticate bottles using technology and carbon dating

How fake wine might still be sitting in collections around the world

Plus: undercover sommeliers, Elvis impersonators, and cheap wine confessions.

Got a question for us? Email us at [email protected] and it might just become our next episode.

Please note: the story of the Jefferson bottles and Hardy Rodenstock is covered in public record sources including The Billionaire’s Vinegar. No assertion is made about events not publicly documented.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly. 

In this fizz-filled episode of A Question of Drinks, Felicity Carter and Lulie Halstead investigate one of the wine world’s most persistent myths: who really invented Champagne? Was it Dom Pérignon, as the marketing legends claim — or were British scientists and merchants bottling bubbly decades earlier?

Expect exploding bottles, legal firestorms, Russian oligarchs, Stalinist innovation, and a blind tasting study that might permanently change how you see cheap sparkling wine.

What we cover:

The overlooked role of English scientist Christopher Merret (1662) in documenting secondary fermentation.

Why British coal-fired glass furnaces mattered more than French monks.

How Champagne marketing reinvented history and created global brand dominance.

The 1911 Champagne riots and how they shaped today’s AOC protections.

Champagne Jane vs. the CIVC: When trade protection becomes personal.

Why Californian 'Champagne' still exists — and the legal loophole keeping it alive.

What really happened when Belgian customs seized Gallo André 'Champagne' on its way to Nigeria.

Stalin’s role in democratising sparkling wine.

Consumer preferences: Do drinkers actually like Champagne best? 

Sugar, calories, and labelling.

Plus:

Lulie tastes Chinese wine in Hong Kong.

Felicity finally tries Guinness (but did she like it?).

Australia goes soft, with Wagyu for dogs and "Paw-kies" on menus.

To contact us:

Got a burning drinks question? Or just want to tease Felicity about Guinness? Email us at: [email protected]

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.

Why are so many people suddenly fluent in tannins, terroir, and Tokaji?

There is an explosion of interest in wine education — and not just in the wine trade. Thousands of enthusiasts are signing up for wine courses, regardless of difficulty or cost.

What’s driving this new thirst for knowledge? Is it fun, status, or the chance to bond with others? s not just about work: many are taking courses for fun, for status, or to bond with others. The episode dissects the appeal of rigorous wine courses, from the WSET diploma to the notoriously difficult Master of Wine, and what motivates people to sign up even when pass rates are low and costs are high.

This episode also touches on how education is becoming a new kind of cultural capital, replacing the arts as a marker of sophistication. It features features personal stories, educational psychology frameworks like the Human Givens model, and historical insights into how institutions like the WSET and the Court of Master Sommeliers evolved.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.