It Takes a Vineyard: The Way We Drink Now And How It Affects Us

Drinking alcohol during the Covid-19 pandemic has become the norm for many of us. Some of us are drinking more alcohol than ever before. Covid-19 has affected our lives from work to food and, of course, to how we drink.

2021 is here and so far it is not the fresh start we had hoped for. For many the challenges of 2020 are ever present and we have lost connections that used to help us cope. With that comes for some of us a change in the role of alcohol in our lives.

Our moderator, Micaela Birmingham, will discuss with a panel of experts who specialize in women’s health, at risk drinking and use disorders. Those panelists include Gabrielle Glaser, New York Times Best-Selling Author of Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink-And How They Can Regain Control and Dr. Leena Mittal, Psychiatrist and Addiction Specialist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

But we will also look at drinking from a different perspective by talking to a woman who beat her addiction to alcohol, Kristi Coulter, Author of Nothing Good Can Come from This and with a female sommelier who is breaking barriers, Amy Karasavas.

There will be no judgements and no one size fits all paths to changing behavior. Specifically our panelists will discuss pandemic stress coping strategies, the official word on pumping and dumping, how to self identify unhealthy patterns with alcohol, how learning about wine can help moderate your consumption and finally, does dry January actually work?

We’re all handling the new normal of living in a pandemic differently, but one thing that is common is an increase in our alcohol consumption. Whether this increase rests mostly on women is up for debate.

Throughout history, women’s inclination to imbibe has been scrutinized closely. The term, “Wine Mom” found its popularity not long ago accompanied by countless merchandise to encourage it and articles to critique and judge it. Memes and gifs of moms downing their “mommy juice,” while attending playdates is no stranger to us. Whether those memes and gifs are accurate isn’t as important as understanding why moms drink, if they drink more, and what to do about it.

Alcohol has a place in many of our lives, whether we are moms, dads, men or women. The importance is knowing if and when it’s too much and how to manage it. Never be embarrassed or afraid to reach out for help.