When Did Coffee Become Wine?

Coffee is so last year...

The Baby Boomers were coffee drinkers. Let's meet for a cup of coffee. Want to meet for a cup of coffee? Would you like a cup of coffee? There were advertisements about coffee. There were commercials about coffee. General Foods International Coffee ads put the concept of Coffee as a drink on the map. It was now a destination, a feeling. We could sit and stare for hours with a cup of coffee in hand. We could escape in a bathtub as long as we had a cup of coffee with us. The Tasters Choice coffee commercials had us on the edge of our seat wondering if the couple in neighboring apartments was finally going to get together for a cup of coffee and maybe more. The Folger's commercials had us in tears as we watched the military son, as he returns from war, prepare coffee waiting for the aroma to wake his mother. Oh, the drama a cup of coffee created. A generation subsisted on coffee and created a phenomenon called Starbucks, or an upscale coffee shop. Although baby boomers don't like spending 4 bucks on a coffee.

When did coffee become wine? Advertisments today consist of wine tasters, wine drinkers, and the best places to drink said wine. Every television show centers around the glass of wine. There are television shows where the main character is never without a glass of wine. Courtney Cox played a woman on Cougar Town where she and her friends always had a glass in their hand. Where once women got together to have coffee and play mahjong (a game they still are playing) now the drink of choice is wine. Play dates include wine. Girls night out always includes wine. I have seen women waiting outside their childrens' dance class at the local wine bar drinking wine. Wine is soo hot right now.

Cougar Town

Why though is the question? Are we in need of numbing? Has life gotten so hard that a constant yet slight buzz from sips of wine has become a constant in our day? Has motherhood become too mundane? Has working out of the home, a new normal for Generation X, caused maternal guilt? For the Millennial crew, drinking wine may make the reality of making less than their parents more palatable. Just enough to to take the edge off while preparing themselves for adulthood.

Women drinkers have also become a new phenomenon. Or has it just become more socially acceptable, allowing us out of the proverbial closet? We seem to be taking advantage of this new hip thing to do. At least, that's surely what it looks like. I have had many a GNO where too much was imbibed. We are all guilty of maybe having a bit too much. The latest statistics do say that AA is now comprised of more women than men. Maybe Coffee wasn't such a bad idea.

Girls Night Out

Or is it something completely different? Maybe wine is just good. It tastes good. It feels good. It looks good, it makes you look good. A night with wine is just good. For the Generation X'ers and Millenials drinking wine may be their way of looking like the adult they want to look like. Mature, sophisticated, ready to take on the world. Proving to the world that they do belong here and are making their mark. There must be a reason why Wine Bars have become super popular. Bars now offer wine tastings and wine classes in hopes of educating while inebriating. There are instagram accounts solely about wine, snapchats solely about wine, blogs about wine, etc. It has become a culture.

And maybe it's ok for us women to drink wine. We deserve it. We work hard both in and out of the home. We take care of our children as well as our spouses. We usually take care of our aging parents as well. I think we have earned the right to drink the drink that makes us feel good. Whether that's wine or coffee. Although, a little moderation in both is probably the healthier way to go.