A Question of Drinks

Ep 22: Everyone Swears They Want Authenticity. But We Keep Buying Big Brands. Why?


Listen Later

Does it matter where your favourite drink comes from or who makes it?

Using the tangled origin story of the Tequila Sunrise, the secretive monks behind Chartreuse, and the very manufactured “Irishness” of Baileys, Lulie and Felicity ask whether the truth still matters… or whether it’s all about who has the best story. 

Listener Adele from Australia sets the core question: younger drinkers say they want authenticity, but it’s the big, well-distributed brands that keep growing. Felicity and Lulie pull apart what “authentic” actually means for regulators, for brand owners, and for Gen Z with limited budgets and offer a simple framework: heritage, origin, and founder or personality

There are frameworks, fierce debates and a lot of discussion of the merits of Baileys. Plus, your personal tour of Lulie’s Christmas tree. It’s an episode that will challenge what you believe about stories, status, and what’s really in your glass.

  • Authenticity in drinks isn’t one thing but at least three: heritage (history and continuity), origin (place and terroir) and personality (founder or celebrity).

  • Big brands keep winning not because they’re more “authentic” but because they have mental and physical availability plus coherent, consistent stories.

  • Gen Z say they value authenticity, but the data shows they mostly buy convenience, price and coherence — “no bullshit” and repeatable quality beat obscure terroir.

  • You can’t simply declare yourself “fine wine” or “authentic”: status is conferred by others, and when stories clash with facts (see Trump Vodka, Goose Island) drinks punish the gap.

  • Authenticity is really about ethics and trust: fake heritage, fuzzy origin claims or outright fraud don’t just hurt one brand, they poison whole categories.
  • 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. Her Drinks Insider podcast won the 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Award for Audio.



    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    A Question of DrinksBy Felicity Carter and Lulie Halstead

    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    7 ratings


    More shows like A Question of Drinks

    View all
    Planet Money by NPR

    Planet Money

    30,699 Listeners

    Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

    Global News Podcast

    7,617 Listeners

    No Such Thing As A Fish by No Such Thing As A Fish

    No Such Thing As A Fish

    4,869 Listeners

    GuildSomm Podcast by GuildSomm

    GuildSomm Podcast

    419 Listeners

    Wine Enthusiast Podcast by Wine Enthusiast Magazine

    Wine Enthusiast Podcast

    187 Listeners

    VinePair Podcast by VinePair

    VinePair Podcast

    301 Listeners

    Home Cooking by Samin Nosrat & Hrishikesh Hirway

    Home Cooking

    4,875 Listeners

    Wine Blast with Susie and Peter by Susie and Peter, Masters of Wine

    Wine Blast with Susie and Peter

    86 Listeners

    ARENI Global: In Conversation by Pauline Vicard

    ARENI Global: In Conversation

    9 Listeners

    XChateau Wine Podcast by Robert Vernick, Peter Yeung

    XChateau Wine Podcast

    104 Listeners

    The Wine Conversation by The Wine Conversation

    The Wine Conversation

    16 Listeners

    The Wine News in 5 from JancisRobinson.com by JancisRobinson.com

    The Wine News in 5 from JancisRobinson.com

    19 Listeners

    The Economics Show by Financial Times

    The Economics Show

    148 Listeners

    Drinks Insider by Felicity Carter

    Drinks Insider

    4 Listeners

    Wine Voices powered by Wine-Searcher by Wine Voices

    Wine Voices powered by Wine-Searcher

    0 Listeners