This article at Slate misses some important points.
First, beer already went through it connoisseur phase with the expansion of microbrews in the 1990s. When I lived in Fort Collins, no one would even consider having a Bud or a Miller when you could have a Fat Tire or a 90 Shilling or bring home a jug from Coopersmiths. Once that played itself out, people were left looking for the next thing, and what would you know but wine was really cheap. And good. Plus as beer drinkers got smarter, beer ads got stupider and began to insult their customers like so many sensitive Geico cavemen.
Then came the 2000s and whether you were metro or not, Bravo and TLC taught you how to dress yourself, decorate your home, and basically act like a grown-up. So why not use your newly refined sensibilities for beer on wine? Beer was for idiots, wine for adults.
So forget all that stuff about the pastoral lifestyle of Italy making wine more popular. Beer already had its moment. Now where's my Jets spit bucket?
