Shows
A Question of DrinksEp 13: Is Gen Z Really So Different When It Comes to Alcohol?It’s the question of the moment: why is Gen Z drinking less alcohol? Academics are wondering, banks are wondering, and the drinks trade doesn’t know what to think.
In the first episode of a two-part deep dive, Felicity and Lulie tackle this hotly debated question head one. In Part One, they examine a major new academic study, Young People, Alcohol and Risk: A Culture of Caution, which argues that Gen Z's attitudes to alcohol mark a generational shift, not just a life stage delay.
From risk-aversion to the rise of the Clean Girl Aesth...2025-06-2548 minA Question of DrinksEp 12: Lies on the Label and Other Wine CrimesFelicity and Lulie investigate the murky world of wine and spirits fraud — from harmless fakes to lethal counterfeits.
They start with historic wine scandals that rocked Austria and Italy in the 1980s, where illicit additives led to injury and even death. From there, they explore the modern world of counterfeiting: billionaires tricked by fake Romanée-Conti, questionable Thomas Jefferson bottles, and the infamous case of Rudy Kurniawan, whose kitchen doubled as a counterfeit factory.
Lulie introduces her framework for understanding deception in drinks — “fake, fraud or faux” — and the duo discuss how fakes can turn up anywhere...2025-06-111h 03A Question of DrinksEp 11: Who Really Invented Champagne?In this fizz-filled episode of A Question of Drinks, Felicity Carter and Lulie Halstead investigate one of the wine world’s most persistent myths: who really invented Champagne? Was it Dom Pérignon, as the marketing legends claim — or were British scientists and merchants bottling bubbly decades earlier?
Expect exploding bottles, legal firestorms, Russian oligarchs, Stalinist innovation, and a blind tasting study that might permanently change how you see cheap sparkling wine.
What we cover:
The overlooked role of English scientist Christopher Merret (1662) in documenting secondary fermentation.
Why British coal-f...2025-05-281h 00A Question of DrinksEp 10: Why Are So Many People Signing Up for Wine Education?Why are so many people suddenly fluent in tannins, terroir, and Tokaji?
There is an explosion of interest in wine education — and not just in the wine trade. Thousands of enthusiasts are signing up for wine courses, regardless of difficulty or cost.
What’s driving this new thirst for knowledge? Is it fun, status, or the chance to bond with others? s not just about work: many are taking courses for fun, for status, or to bond with others. The episode dissects the appeal of rigorous wine courses, from the WSET diploma to the notoriously diff...2025-05-141h 07A Question of DrinksEp 9: Is The Wine Trade Out Of Touch? Understanding Why People Get Confused by WineWhy do so many people find wine so confusing?
Is it something about wine itself, or is it because of the misconceptions that the wine trade has about wine drinkers?
Data maven Lulie Halstead and wine journalist Felicity Carter dive into the topic, looking at the consumer experience:
In supermarkets
When reading about wine on menus
In front of the wall of wine in retail
When talking to sommeliers and other wine professionals
With other people.
Is the wine trade putting up barriers to entry — or is there something else going on? Felicity and...2025-04-3052 minA Question of DrinksEp 8: How The World Went Wild for Prosecco and Launched a Trade WarWhat happens when sparkling wine, global trade policy, and Paris Hilton collide? In this episode, Felicity Carter and Lulie Halstead take a deep dive into the unlikely but very real international trade war over Prosecco.
What could be more civilised than a glass of refreshing Prosecco, or a colourful Aperol Spritz? And yet this aperitivo ritual, adopted around the world, led to one of the most bitter fights in wine.
From vineyard slopes in northern Italy to Australia’s King Valley and the halls of the EU, this is a story of politics, marketing, and viti...2025-04-0952 min
A Question of DrinksEp 7: Why Isn't There More Wine In Small Bottles? (Or Cans?)If everybody is moderating their wine intake, then how come there aren’t more small wine bottles on the shelf? And what would it take to put them there?
In this episode of A Question of Drinks, join hosts Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter as they explore why wine continues to be sold in those standard 750ml bottles. And who decided it should be 750 ml in the first place?
Come on a journey into wine history, into a world of glass blowers, Biblical figures, show-offs and vending machines. Along the way the hosts explore bag-in-box, al...2025-03-2654 minA Question of DrinksEp 6: Why Is Everybody Drinking Guinness All of a Sudden?It may be more than 300 years old, but sales of Guinness are surging, as the Irish beer finds popularity with new groups of consumers of all ages. How has it managed to reinvent itself in a world of falling beer sales?
Hosts Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter do a deep dive into everything Guinness, from the beer’s history to its taste, to the ‘Splitting the G’ social media trend that’s taking TikTok by storm. They explore every question, from the effectiveness of the 51-page pouring manual, to the immersive beer tourism experience, to the value of legac...2025-03-1257 min
Drinks InsiderEp 24: How Morten Sørensen Created ISH, Conquered 25 Markets and Partnered With FordMorten Sørensen is the man behind ISH Spirits, a revolutionary line of non-alcoholic drinks that have taken the beverage world by storm — including listings on the Michelin-starred menus at 11 Park Madison and Alchemy. And he’s done the unthinkable, like partnering with car companies.
In this entertaining episode, Morten shares his journey from running a creative agency in Copenhagen to travelling the world as a digital nomad, to identifying a gap in the market for mindful drinking. Despite knowing absolutely nothing about beverages, he set out to create drinks that would make it easy to participate in ev...2025-03-0555 minA Question of DrinksEp 5: The Unstoppable Rise and Rise of Rosé WinePink wine is everywhere. On supermarket shelves, on Instagram, and clutched in the hands of celebrities. If there is a single defining wine of the 21st Century, it has to be rosé.
How did this pink wine go from being considered an icon of 70s kitsch to a celebrity diva?
In this episode of A Question of Drinks, hosts Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter delve into the fascinating world of rosé wine, looking at the economic, social, and technological forces that have made rosé wine such a hit.
From novel cooling systems to Ins...2025-02-2648 min
A Question of DrinksEp 4: What’s Driving Us All to Drink Less?The days of the pre-lunch cocktail followed by the bottle of wine at lunch, followed by a chaser, are well and truly over. The peak of alcohol consumption came in 2012 and it’s fallen 25% since then. Not only are people drinking less alcohol than ever before, but many people now see any amount of alcohol as being bad for them.
What happened?
In this insightful episode, Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter look at the impact of technology, the rise of health and wellness trends, and the emergence of the sober curious movement. They also discuss the...2025-02-1248 minDrinks InsiderEp 23: How GenZ Jess Druey Disrupted the Wine Industry and What Happens NextEverybody says they want to attract a new generation of consumers to wine, but Jess Druey’s gone and done it.
In this episode of Drinks Insider she tells the unlikely story of how a college dropout launched a wine brand at 22, after Googling how to make wine. From getting her Mom to help package and send the bottles to partnership with the McBride Sisters, to taking home the $250,000 first prize on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, this is one of the unlikeliest stories in wine.
But it works. Jess honed her skills at Red Bull...2025-02-0559 min
A Question of DrinksEp 3: Do Award-Winning Wines Taste Better?Join Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter as they unpack the complex world of wine scores, medals, and critics, asking where they come from and why the results can be so different between competitions and critics. Then they move into the history of wine criticism and the impact of figures like American wine critic Robert Parker, who changed the market.
They also unpack the psychological and sociological factors that affect consumer perceptions of wine, to find out what consumers think about it all. And they discover a surprising truth about what drives people to choose one wine over...2025-01-2858 min
A Question of DrinksEp 2: The Surprising and Sometimes Violent History of the Gin and TonicGin may have started life as a medicine for heartburn, but it became so popular, it turned into an instrument of mayhem and murder.
Hosts Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter delve into the fascinating world of gin to explore the question of how this one drink shaped history —and what has driven the contemporary gin craze. The discussion then explores the role of tonic water and its connection to the expansion of the British Empire.
And then the question comes round to the current boom in non-alcoholic versions. Can they last? And why did gin ne...2025-01-2838 min
A Question of DrinksEp 1: The Hidden Drivers of Fashions in WineWhy do we drink what we do? And why are we drinking different wines than we did 30 years ago?
Lulie Halstead and Felicity Carter do a deep dive into why the wine rack looks very different than it once did. But what is a wine style and who determines it?
And who gets to decide what we drink? It turns out the answer involves changes in technology, fashion and even what looks good on Instagram.
In the course of the discussion they roam over academic research, popular culture, the role of celebrities and...2025-01-2859 minA Question of DrinksTrailer: Welcome to A Question of DrinksWhy do we drink what we do? Why do some drinks catch fire for a time, and then spend decades at the back of the cupboard? And how do some drinks become classics? In this engaging podcast, drinks data maven Lulie Halstead joints drinks writer and researcher Felicity Carter on a journey into the world of drinks. Along the way, they discover that what's in the glass is more than a drink — it's a representation of cultural, technological and social shifts.2025-01-0901 minDrinks InsiderEp 8: Navigating the Future of the Wine Industry with Lulie Halstead, IWSRAlcohol consumption is predicted to drop precipitously in the next five years. What actions should wineries (and distilleries) take to ensure their business is one of those that comes out the other side in good financial shape? What opportunities are there for wine-adjacent products?
In this episode, wine data guru Lulie Halstead shares insights on branding, consumer behavior, and practical research tactics, offering valuable advice for wine enterprises of all sizes.
Projected decline in wine consumption
Impact of generational shifts
Premiumization trends
Market orientation over product orientation:
Distinctiveness versus differentiation
Diverse consumer preferences
Leveraging market research
...2024-08-0756 min