Toward the end of last week, on a gorgeous mid-spring day, the New York Times published a piece called "The Aperol Spritz Is Not A Good Drink." It was the perfect time; people were gearing up for the weekend and solidifying their drinking plans. It was the perfect place; the paper has a lot of eyes on it right now. And it was the perfect headline; people love that damn drink.

The piece incited an internet riot we haven't seen since the last time the Times intentionally stirred up food-related drama...and it proved there is no one person or outlet who should be the voice of reason when it comes to what's "cool" in food right now, especially not an old-school, uber-legacy media brand. I, for one, am not going to be intimidated away from something I love to eat or drink or be told it isn't "good" by someone who just wants clicks like the rest of us. I'll be encouraged toward it by what I see is fun and happening on the internet around me, as will most others who ended up reading and reacting to that story.

Brands you (and I!) would normally look to as authorities in pretty much any realm benefitted H-A-R-D from the trashing of the spritz. Grubstreet published what amounted to a round-up of angry tweets from the Aperol Spritz hive. CNN declared the declaration (and its subsequent backlash) a crisis of our nation. And, wouldn't you know it, the Times knew they'd struck gold and attempted a second round of pick-up when they published alternative Spritz recipes a few days later. Something those brands have in common? They're so renowned it almost feels weird to disagree with them.

From there, a different (not lesser—just different) caliber of food media began commenting on the subject. The Takeout, PureWow!, and, sure, yeah, Delish jumped in, predominately defending the drink. Esquire came to the Spritz's defense because of the culture that surrounds the drink. Others—hey, Elite Daily!—have ignored the hating so completely that they are publishing things like "28 Captions For Aperol Spritz Pics That'll Make Your Feed So Bubbly."

The common thread here: Those are sites that write about "unicorn farts" beer and Natty Light summer internships and Trader Joe's' new YouTube channel. No one feels ashamed walking away from pieces like that. Vaguely amused and mildly disgusted? Sure. Super intrigued and a little curious? Totally. Wildly passionate and fired up? Yup. But not ashamed. Never ashamed! There's enough food-shaming on the webz already for us to publish systematic takedowns of a thing people are clearly enjoying, let alone for no reason other than to have people click on it.

Before you go looking, I, of course, have written similar things. I've worked in media for six years—how could I not? But there is a difference: One is writing something meant to be read by masses and wanting people to click on your work. The other is using your stature as a trustworthy and legacy brand to do so in a way that makes people feel bad.

And lest you think I am sitting here bitter over an Aperol Spritz, please know this attitude of condescension toward foods that are popular, commoditized, and/or beloved extends to everything from the aforementioned unicorn beer to any kind of crazy 'grammable pizza and so much more. It's constantly called "wrong," "terrible," and "wacky." Constantly! All the time! Always! Forever!

So excuse me if an attack on what will undoubtedly continue to be "the drink of summer" for the next 3,242 summers to come really winds me up. It's just that the belittling of the enjoyment of so many people makes me wanna pour out some Aperol-doused Prosecco for the good of mankind. Or whatever. I don't even like Aperol Spritzes.