For decades, the winery visit followed a familiar script. Arrive, stand or sit, listen to someone explain what is in the glass, nod at the right moments, decide what you like, maybe join the club. That ritual still works for many visitors. But wine country is no longer operating in a culture where wine can assume automatic relevance. A 2025 Gallup poll captures the challenge facing wine: only 54% of U.S. adults said they drink alcohol, while a record-high 53% said moderate drinking is bad for their health. Among younger adults, alcohol is increasingly optional, not assumed.
That is the tension behind Janiak’s work. He is not simply improving the meal; he is making wine feel less like something guests have to prove they understand. Food has an advantage wine often lacks. Most people already trust themselves around it. That idea sits at the center of St. Francis’ Wine & Food Pairing Experience, a 120-minute, five-course menu served in the estate dining room. This perhaps is wine country’s clearest path forward. Lead with pleasure before expertise. Keep the complexity but make the first step less intimidating. Accept that food will not reverse declining alcohol consumption on its own, while recognizing that a meal can give hesitant guests a softer place to begin. At St. Francis, the wine still matters. It matters deeply. It just does not have to stand alone.
Excerpt Taken From: Forbes
Author: Noel Burgess
