The situation around wine, alcohol and health is complex, and a lot of important conversations are happening within the realm of public affairs, an area that most of the wine world doesn’t think much about.

What is the social context in which these changes to public health policy are happening? How serious is the threat to the wine industry? Does the medical and scientific evidence support the “no safe level” claim?

We asked three key personalities to help us understand what is happening, and what is at stake.

With Felicity Carter, founder of Drinks Insider, Julian Braithwaite, CEO of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) and Dr Laura Catena, founder of In Defense of Wine and managing director, Catena Zapata.

About the Series:

From impactful panels and roundtables to winery visits centred around case studies, this podcast gives listeners the opportunity to engage with the high level conversations recorded live at Areni Live 2025 Burgundy Edition that took place between July 1st and July 3rd 2025.

About Areni:

Areni Global is a research organisation dedicated to the future of fine wine. Areni Global helps wineries, distributors and retailers to understand how the world is changing, and how that creates risks to be managed and opportunities to be seized.

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In 2021, 30y old Burgundian winemaker Charles Lachaux was crowned Best Rising Star at the inaugural Golden Vines Awards, and the wine world lost its mind. Prices for his bottles skyrocketed on the secondary market, he was endorsed by President Macron, and suddenly this sixth-generation Burgundian was being hailed as the successor to Lalou Bize-Leroy.

But Lachaux’s rise didn’t begin with fame — and it hasn’t ended there either.

In this unusually frank conversation, Charles Lachaux joins Pauline Vicard to explain the sweeping changes he’s made to viticulture at his family estate in Vosne-Romanée: no tilling, no trimming, organic and biodynamic practices, and a firm belief in letting the vine “be.” He details how becoming a father clarified his approach to stewardship, why he uses ceramics instead of oak, and how his commitment to regenerative agriculture meant choosing quality over yield — even in the face of disastrous vintages.

We also go deep on the commercial fallout of success: why he pulled his wines from retail and changed his route to private clients, how NFTs are being used to track and reward consumption, and why he no longer submits his wines to wine critics.

An unfiltered look at the price of integrity in Burgundy — and what it means to build a legacy in a region that’s both tradition-bound and in flux.

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Pauline spent a few days in the Florida capital and sat down with key players. Here is what we learned about the incredibly dynamic, passionate, hungry and growing wine scene of a city that might change a thing or two for the future of fine wine.

Based in London, Laurence Whyatt is Head of European Beverages Research for Barclays Investment Bank, meaning that his job is to predict the future of alcohol consumption globally, so that companies can invest accordingly.

Drawing from his latest multi-year analysis, How Demographics and Economics Shape Global Alcohol Consumption, we answer some of the world of wine's burning questions on Gen Z, the role of women in premiumisation and the impact of cannabis and Ozempic on alcohol sales.

And if you want to know which markets represent the biggest opportunities for premium wine companies and why, stay tuned until the end of the episode.

This podcast series is part of a larger Areni Global research project. Subscribe to our newsletter to get access to our articles and publications: https://bit.ly/AreniNewsletter

How should leaders prepare to succeed in an impossible-to-predict world?

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Rudd is the Chair of Berry Bros. & Rudd, Britain’s oldest wine merchant.

Founded in 1698 at number 3 St James street in London, the company still occupies the same address 327 years later. But today, it offers more than 1,500 SKUs and stores more than 1.5 million cases of wine in a state-of-the-art warehouse in Hampshire. They also have offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, and sell to customers in more than 100 countries.

After more than three centuries, there aren’t many changesthat Berry Bros & Rudd haven’t seen. The company has survived wars, riots,geopolitical turmoil, the Great Depression and more minor recessions.

From their investment in regenerativeviticulture to the huge budget they allocate to digital transformation, Lizzy Rudd, the Chair, explains how the company is planning to thrive through yet another challenging time.

Visit us at Areni Global to learn more about becoming a member and subscribe to our newsletter HERE.

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What does the wine trade need to become more profitable?

At the very moment that everything is changing, it is important to take some time to evaluate professional wine education. Is it fit for purpose? How could a revised professional wine education answer some of our industry’s crucial issues?

Pauline Vicard and Felicity Carter present Areni's latest whitepaper key findings, based on 18 months of research.

They discuss:

• What needs to be on the curriculum to make the wine trade more profitable
• What remains core knowledge, but also what set of skills are missing from the curriculum
• The gap between what wine professionals love learning about and what they need to know, and how can this gap be bridged
• Who should offer this training

Get access to the full publication HERE.

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About your hosts:

Pauline Vicard is the co-founder and executive director of Areni Global, the leading organization dedicated to addressing the critical challenges facing fine wine. 

Felicity Carter is Editorial Director of Areni Global, and also writes for numerous wine publications. We highly recommend her podcast Drinks Insider.

How do you create a new generation of life-long wine collectors and enthusiasts?

Hamish Greening knows how to find them and nurture them. Hamish is Private Client Specialist of Chelsea Vintners in London.

And he’s built a clientele of under-40 wine drinkers who are happy to spend £400+ on a single bottle of wine. 

In this fourth episode of New Consumers, New Narratives, Hamish reveals:

• What turns someone from a wine drinker into a wine collector;
• How there are plenty of women who want to be included — but who need to be invited in;
• The role of social media in the buying decisions of the young, cashed-up and curious; 
• Why trust needs to be earned in new ways; and
• Why dogs should be welcome at tastings

Hamish has all the insights into what the under-40 fine wine drinker is looking for, whether they’re based in London, the USA or Singapore.

This podcast series is part of a larger Areni Global research project. Subscribe to our newsletter to get access to our articles and publications: https://bit.ly/AreniNewsletter

What do zillenials want? What do they seek? How do they think about wine and what can the industry do about this?

In this third episode of New Consumers, New Narratives, we meet Honore Comfort, the vice president of international marketing at the Wine institute, the collective body representing the Californian wine trade. In 2024, the wine institute commissioned a big study aiming to understand the minds of the zillenials – the clever contraction of Gen Z-at least the ones that are old enough to legally drink +millennials. While acknowledging that this cohort is diverse, the study focused on understanding the key points making this demographic so different from other age groups and how these differences impact the way they see – and think about wine. 

This podcast series is part of a larger Areni Global research project. Subscribe to our newsletter to get access to our articles and publications: https://bit.ly/AreniNewsletter

Consistent with its Code of Advertising Standards, Wine Institute is committed to ensuring wine is promoted responsibly to those adults who choose to consume it. Wine Insitute offers insights and tools to help our members promote their wines to consumers of legal drinking age. Their members are required to market wine to adults in a responsible and appropriate manner. This commitment includes the responsible content and placement of all communications concerning wine. All research, insights, and strategies have been developed for an adult audience above the age of 25 who are self-described consumers and purchasers of alcohol beverages.

Western societies are currently re-examining their relationship with wine and alcohol. For the last couple of years, the “no-safe level of alcohol” narrative has come to the forefront, with headlines highlighting new studies leading to the conclusion that there is no alcohol consumption without health risks, deeply challenging our established understanding of moderation.

So, has the science really changed, or is moderation still a valid concept?

Jennifer Tujague is Chief Scientist at the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), a position she has occupied since 2013. IARD is a membership organization gathering 13 of the world's largest producers of beers, wines and spirits coming together under around their shared objective of reducing harmful use of alcohol. She talked to Areni about the current research on alcohol, wine and health.

Visit us at Areni Global to learn more about becoming a member and subscribe to our newsletter HERE.

Follow Areni on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin: @areniglobal

What does 2025 have in store for the fine wine world? How are key players planning for this new year and where will they invest their time, and money?

Felicity and Pauline caught up with six major wine personalities, to ask them what they see ahead in 2025.

Here is what they discussed:

· China: The impact of the country’s slow recovery and how the wine market has drastically changed in five years (with some very positive trends, we promise!)

· Global: The geopolitical turmoil and taxes and tariffs, both in the USA and in the UK, and how companies are adapting

· Consumption: The rapid decline of wine consumption — notably away from home — in major Western markets and the impact on the fine wine trade. Our experts also discuss the different steps they are taking to overcome these challenges.

· Markets: How major players are investing in Brazil, South East Asia and new African markets, and what it takes to be successful in these fast-growing markets.

· Styles: The “Burgundification” of fine wine and what it means for the fine wine market generally.

Many thanks to Polly Hammond, Founder and Executive Director, 5forests; Joao Gomes Da Silva, the Chief Comercial Officer, Sogrape, Portugal; Natalie Wang, the Founder and Editor, Vinojoy, China; Matt Deller MW, Managing Director, Wirra Wirra, Australia; Pierre Mansour, Wine Director, The Wine Society, UK; Edouard Baijot MW, Director Luxury-International, Gallo, USA.

Visit us at Areni Global to learn more about becoming a member and subscribe to our newsletter HERE.

Follow Areni on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin: @areniglobal