Decision to leave alcohol behind

Wine has always been a big part of my life—my career, hobby, obsession, and the reason I live where I do. It brought a whole new world to me and I am very grateful for all it has given me. Unfortunately, that might include cancer. 

The first thing I did when receiving a late stage cancer diagnosis was give up alcohol. It just made sense for me to remove something that was likely to be, if not the cause, then a factor harming my recovery. Simple. The hard part was finding something to drink instead. Six years on and hundreds of NA wine bottles later and I've still not found that wine deserving of a second glass. Some things have come close but most missed the mark by a country mile. Alcohol lends an important hand to bringing a wine together—it gives essential mouthfeel and holds all kinds of wonderful flavor compounds together. It is not just an intoxicant. It is more of an alchemist. 

Replacing that role is something we've worked hard to do. Being able to deliver an experience that tastes like wine and feels like wine, is essential to what West & Wilder does. If we cannot deliver the same experience as you've come to expect from a glass of bubbles, then how are we going to convince you to have a second one? 

We also know from experience that all the mocktails and NA beers in the world can't take you to magical places like wine does. As a story of land and people, wine is the ultimate taste of place. Our job is to make abstention—whatever your motivation might be—a hell of a lot more enjoyable and delicious. For our sakes as well as yours.