Falling wine sales reflect a lonelier and more atomised world

Unlock unlimited access to all our award-winning journalism, subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters Subscribe to The Economist Unlock unlimited access to all our award-winning journalism, subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters Your browser does not support the <audio> element. T he poet T.S. Eliot was wrong. April is not the cruellest month. January is. In northern latitudes the first day of the new year is marred by a sharp increase in suicides (though these trail off as the month continues). The long, dark days can lower people’s moods, particularly those susceptible to seasonal affective disorder (sad), a sort of depression. And older people tend to say they are lonelier in the winter months. Adding to this general misery are the exhortations of do-gooders to forgo a warming glass of red wine and instead to observe a “dry January” by abstaining from all forms of alcohol. Yet it is not just the health-conscious who will be saying no to Bordeaux in January or sniffing at Sauvignon

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