According to CNN, there is now a nationwide shortage of the drink. Based on data collected by Nielsen, they report that sales of White Claw have grown faster than expected – 283% so far in 2019.

Another reason White Claw is so popular is that it goes with nearly any food. Because of its nearly nondescript flavor profile consumers could conceivably enjoy it with anything from a grilled steak with Korean Ssamjang to poached halibut with Béarnaise or even carnitas tacos. Plus, these beverages can be cheap. At the casual new Lincoln Avenue Brewery in Calistoga that sells a burger for $10 and black-bean quesadillas for $8, they were — last time I checked —selling cans of White Claw for $4 each.

There are some who believe (me included) that this shift toward less-expensive and simpler beverages will expand and cut into Napa Valley wine sales.

Looking back to see forward — 1926 vs. 2019

In Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” one of the characters, Bill, asks his friend Mike how he went bankrupt. His friend’s now-famous reply is simple yet telling: “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”