Ray Isle

Food & Wine Exec Wine Editor / Wine & Spirits Editor, Travel + Leisure. On Instagram as @rayisle. Did I get to taste tequila with The Rock? Damn straight I did.

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@HenryGJeffreys Reminds me of advice I was given by an actor (RSC, tv roles, etc), which was "If you can think of anything else you could do, at all, do that. If you feel there is absolutely nothing else in the world you could ever, ever, even possibly want to do, then yes, be an actor."

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@JamesSurowiecki @rational_wiki Maybe the most uneven great band ever? Regardless, I’d vote Trouble Boys as the best rock bio I’ve ever read.

[Ray Isle @islewine]

See above, @ExpediaHelp. Stunningly bad customer service.

[Ray Isle @islewine]

Just had to listen to @Expedia call center being incredibly rude to my wife on the phone - initial call center guy and manager. Is that your policy? Treat women like they are idiots? Interrupt them repeatedly when they are trying to speak? Tell them to stop talking? #totalfail

[Ray Isle @islewine]

Evidently the Obamas aren't anti-wine. 😁 🍷

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Happy birthday to the love of my life, @MichelleObama. You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life's adventures with you. Love you!

[Derek Thompson @DKThomp]

I spent a long, long time trying to answer a question that I really care about.

Is moderate drinking—say, 1 glass of wine a night (and, let's be honest, sometimes 2!)—"okay"?

Here's the article:

https://t.co/8jb6hvsHF2

4 things to emphasize:

1. The science is a total mess

The surgeon general wants new cancer warning labels on booze based on large meta-analyses. But wait: The National Academies also did a large meta-analysis and found moderate drinking is associated with longer lives. But wait: Many popular podcasts emphasize the risk of drinking *any* alcohol on cancer and brain matter shrinkage. But wait: Many other popular scientists point out that those studies are deeply flawed. Ahhh!!

2. Beware over-corrections in science

The 1990s conventional wisdom that moderate amounts of red wine were very good for your heart were (almost certainly) based on over-confident conclusions drawn from bad studies with improper comparisons between moderate drinkers (who are often healthy for reasons that have nothing to do with alcohol) and non-drinkers (who are often less healthy for reasons that have nothing to do with abstinence). We're smarter now. We've fixed this error. But now we're talking about slapping warnings on wine bottles about mouth and throat and breast cancer. And I'm worried we're throwing the same bad "fruit" into the "juicer" of health meta-analyses and calling it a perfect smoothie (to paragraphse @VPrasadMDMPH).

3. When evaluating health warnings, consider the difference between relative and absolute risk.

Even if you choose to take the new cautious CW seriously, the upshot is that moderate drinking only slightly increases the risk of some cancers from an low absolute number to another low absolute number. What might appear to be a large increase in relative risk—say, a 40% increase in oral cancers—is a very small increase in absolute risk, because oral cancer is so rare to begin with.

4. "Every drink of alcohol decreases your expected lifespan by five minutes"

*If* you choose to believe the new observational study meta-analyses (an important if! see point 1 above!) this is the all-cause mortality upshot. That sounds kinda bad. But as @euanashley and his team at Stanford have also calculated from observational studies, every minute of exercise *increases* your expected lifespan by five minutes!

So, there's your new longevity math: HAVE ONE DRINK; JOG FOR ONE MINUTE.

TLDR: I'm gonna keep enjoying my evening glass of pinot. Because, at the end of the day, I'm much more confident that I love wine and that it makes me happy that I'm confident that messy observational study meta-analyses should rule my life.

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@KentTorrey @TheCheeseShop1 The wine that made me fall in love with wine was a 1984 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill...

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@noahsfriedman same

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@KentTorrey @blackberryfarm @andychab So you're the culprit! 🤣

[Blackberry Farm @blackberryfarm]

We kicked off the 2025 Blackberry Year by welcoming Ray Isle, to the Farm for our 20th anniversary of Wine Geek! This year's Wine Geek gave guests access to the Blackberry Farm cellar, and an incredible roster of bottles to sip throughout three days of tastings and pairings.

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@blackberryfarm Such an honor to be the 20th anniversary guest!

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@HenryGJeffreys Loved both of those, though it's been an eon since I read Ice Cream War - should reread it!

[All Of It With Alison Stewart @AllOfItWNYC]

Today on All Of It: We talk holiday drinks w/ @foodandwine's wine editor @islewine and drinks editor Prairie Rose🍷 ! Plus, food editor Andee Gosnell on apps🧀 , @Vulture critic @alisonwillmore provides film suggestions, and a performance from @WVChorale.

Live at Noon @WNYC!

[Peter Murphy @petermurphyinfo]

“Putting this to bed: Bauhaus was not 'inspired' by Joy Division. We were 2 months ahead of them and both camps were being told about one another mutually.”- Peter

[Nature is Amazing ☘️ @AMAZlNGNATURE]

Please enjoy these ducks changing their minds.

[Ray Isle @islewine]

Kudos to writer @KorinMiller on this, & yes, significant news.

[Laura Catena @LauraCatena]

A very well written article by @foodandwine on the new National Academies Report @islewine @KorinMiller Drinking Debate: A New Government Report Highlights the Risks and ‘Benefits’ of Moderate Alcohol Use https://t.co/anQJmrzW4w via @foodandwine

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@HenryGJeffreys Perhaps they’ve forgotten why anyone cares about the wine…

[Expanding Dan: the Steely Dan newsletter @ExpandingDan]

RIP Phil Lesh, a legend for so much including his hilariously honest testimony during a Jerry Garcia estate hearing in 1996.

[Ray Isle @islewine]

An honor for me, too @calebsilver !

[caleb silver @calebsilver]

What an incredible thrill and honor to share the stage and the table with @chefjoseandres @islewine to discuss #Innovation and share great food and wine @FutureProof_HQ in partnership with @InvescoUS 🍷🐟. Thank you, Chef!

[Ray Isle @islewine]

@SOMMspirations Petrelle. It's in the 9th, I think. Lovely.