Living: Water, Water Everywhere

At work and at parties, Americans are drinking less and enjoying it more

On a bright Saturday afternoon, customers at the small bar are sipping, socializing and avidly comparing their drinks. New vodka concoctions? Rare Napa Valley vintages? Bavarian lagers? No. This is High Sobriety, a "beverage boutique" in a North Dallas shopping center, which stocks and serves a storeful of nonalcoholic liquid refreshers. Here are such unspiked delights as Calistoga sparkling water from California, Chateau Yaldara (a sparkling spumante) from Australia, Texas Select "beer," and Carl Jung "Champagne" from West Germany with no kick at all. Cheers! And welcome to the water generation.

W.C. Fields, who once complained that someone had put pineapple...

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