Is Wine Healthy?
Yes and no.
by Erin Henderson
There are many reasons a person chooses not to drink alcohol and none of them are my business.
If someone who prefers not to imbibe comes to a Wine Sisters event, we are happy to offer a quality, sophisticated, zero-proof drink.
But lately wine has come under fire from government organizations claiming temperance is the only way to go for a healthy life. I’m not a doctor (though I have dressed up as one on occassion, for matters completely unrelated to this article) but this seems a bit heavy handed. Hasn’t wine been around for millennia? Yes, I do believe is has.
Of course, if you are a vulnerable person with an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, then you are best to heed Health Canada, the WHO, and your family doctor’s warnings. No argument here. And if you have had a few drinks, I would also implore you to find a safe way home. That seems obvious.
But if you are a self-governing adult, with a reasonable grasp on reality and all of life’s responsibilities and demands, I’m hard-pressed to see a valid reason for you to shun a glass of wine with dinner.
And it looks like I am not alone. I recently read a supremely balanced article by the famed wine writer Jancis Robinson. While she certainly defends drinking wine – she, as well as I, have an invested interest in people continuing to clink glasses – her article is calm, unemotional, and fact-filled. Much of it is based on Felicity Carter’s jaw dropping piece in Wine Business Monthly where Ms Carter draws solid lines between hard core prohibition groups and their influence on the WHO. It reeks of backroom dealings among the smoke and mirrors.
Listen, if you choose to avoid alcohol, I’m certainly not going to shame you for it. But if you’re someone denying yourself out of fear of courting health risks, I encourage you to read this article found on jancisrobinson.com and come up with your own conclusions.
