Once, I was in a plane crash.
The plane had been hit by lightning twice, knocking out its electrical system and landing gear, forcing it to a crash landing, in the dark, late at night.
I was in the middle of the coach cabin. There were 50 or so people seated ahead of me. But I was the second person off the plane, because I crawled over the tops of seats. All around me, people were motionless.
The lesson I learned that night is that faced with a grim situation, many people freeze. they become paralyzed. Dazed. They can’t move.
I think about that now because all of us know the difficulties the wine community faces. We know about the generational down shifts. We know about cannabis’ incursion, and the flattening of desire by Ozempic. We know that the wine distribution system is a mess. We know that case sales of some Ready-to-Drink cocktails already equal to one fifth of the entire number of cases of wine sold in the US put together. And we know that, thanks to tariffs, the days of drinking a reasonably priced Sancerre or Côtes du Rhône are numbered.
It’s demoralizing—so much so that at times, we’re like people on the plane.
We’re frozen.
And then every day, I stop contemplating the why not just give up?… and start going to work for the Why.
The “Why” of wine is something we all know. Because it’s our story—the story of friendship, family, food, rural towns, cultural bonds, and community forged in the most basic and historic of ways—by eating and drinking together.
Wine is based on an old value system of generosity and humility in the face of Nature. That value system is more poignant—and more needed—today than ever. It’s an old value system that at the same time, is startlingly modern. Wine is authenticity. Connection. A pure vein into the earth. A slow moment in a fast world. Wine is the silent music of nature.
The morning—a little over a year ago when, walking my dog, I thought up the idea of Come Over October—I wasn’t paralyzed by the bad news. I was determined by the bad news.
I called Kimberly Charles and Gino Colangelo, and they too did not pause for a moment. The three of us—with no money and nothing more than an idea and a passion for wine—created the mission driven company Come Together—A Community for Wine. We named the company that because wine—which so compellingly brings us together—now needs us to come together.
For the last year, the three of us have donated, pro bono, thousands of hours of our time to make Come Over October and its sister campaign Share & Pair Sundays a reality. To those of you who have helped us move this mountain, we are so grateful. And to those of you who might join us: jump in.
The impact of the campaigns has been significant. Last year we reached 2 billion UVM media impressions, 5 million social media impressions and more than 1,000 retail stores in 43 states did Come Over October and Share & Pair Sundays promotions, along with hundreds of wineries, trade groups, and wine companies.
Honestly, it’s been astounding. But even more than that, it’s been a confirmation that we can tell the true story of wine’s beneficial place in everyday living. We can change a negative trajectory into a positive one. We can revitalize consumer behavior.
Lastly for my own part, I’ll share that it took me 10 years—10 unpaid years—to write the first edition of The Wine Bible.
And that taught me how to not give up.
So, I’m not giving up on wine. Kimberly, Gino, and I together are not giving up.
Please don’t give up either. Please join us, and help us make Come Over October 2025 the best, biggest, and most exciting consumer campaign in the United States.
You can reach me at karen@karenmacneil.com
