Strat buying your wine from local retail wine shops and health-focused restaurants.
Stop buying wine from *most* large grocery store chains or food-clubs that sell primarily high-processed and less healthy foods.
My two main reasons are...
Variety:
Retail wine shops offer a wider variety of wines outside of the high-volume options from large wine producers and marketing companies. It's estimated that 85%-90% of the hundreds of brands you see in large grocery stores are from only 10 large companies. Small or organic or natural producers are limited and it takes a detective to find them!
Restaurants offering organic, vegan, keto, paleo, and other health-driven dishes likely have wines that match their customers' dietary needs. Many large restaurant chains carry common high-volume brands you find in large grocery stores.
Knowledgeable Staff:
Retail wine shops demand more information from their distributors on the wines they carry and pride themselves on unique selections. Also, someone on staff tends to be a wine aficionado who can answer very specific questions or get you answers.
Restaurants offering organic and fresh local foods invest in training their staff to understand the health impacts of wine and go beyond food pairings.
Want to test this concept? Maybe ask your grocer wine staff about vegan wines or the difference between organic and natural wine. Then, try the same question at a smaller local wine shop. If you are frustrated by someone's response, maybe the Wine & Wellness Survival Guide can be useful to them too!
