Kids sipping wine ... is it better or worse?

[Roy Hersh]

As you will read, Mike (the author) introduced wine to his child at 10 months of age. Sure it was only a finger's worth on the gums. Fortunately, his children have not turned into alcoholics.

What was your experience growing up? Did you parents let you taste wine at an early age or did they permit you to sip a beer or their cocktail?

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/drin ... y_it_.html - Slate's Mike S. provides a provocative article on this topic.

I think this will make for an interesting discussion and see if "wine in moderation" fits into parenting practices here, or total prohibition. Do you (did you) allow your children to sniff or sip or drink wine or other alcohol before they were of age? IF so, do you think it was a positive or negative experience in terms of setting up their patterns in life?

[Carl D]

My parents never drank wine until it was introduced to them by their kids! I don't remember the first time I had any wine, but I was probably in my early 20's.

[Ray Barnes]

I was given a sip of beer when I was seven and did not care much for it then - or now for that matter. My 14 yo daughter had a little of the 2003 Taylor VP at my mother's funeral reception, she thought it was absolutely delicious. As a general rule though, she doesn't touch any of that stuff.

[Glenn E.]

My Dad always let me taste his beer if I asked, and I think that's why to this day I don't like beer. Since it was available for the asking, I couldn't understand why anyone would want to drink something so foul and bitter. I suppose that if it were some sort of "forbidden fruit" that I might have learned to like it anyway like a lot of my friends.

I don't recall tasting wine in the same way, but I probably did. I've never liked dry wine either.

Just Port for me, thanks!

[Paul Fountain]

I was given a little bit regularly from probably 2 or 3 years of age. My parents drank mostly white and not particularly high quality white. As I got a little older, they reduced the regularity, so I might only have wine at special occasions. I did try red wine when I was 7 or 8 and didn't like it - I remember not understanding how people could like a drink that was savoury. I didn't care much for beer either until my teens either.

[Moses Botbol]

I was allowed to drink wine with dinner as a teen, but wasn't much into it. As I turned 18, sweeter styles of wine like port were tasty. Did not start getting into wine until I was 22.

[Brian C.]

Tasting the California chardonnay jug wine that my mom used to always drink was quite an obstacle for me to overcome. It was further compounded by trying a California merlot when I was in my 20s. It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I started finding an interest in wine, because I learned that there were a lot of wonderful grapes that nobody ever talks about, and that it's not all about grapes that are commonly grown in California. There's probably a similar story for how I came to like some beer. Trying one of the mass marketed beers at an early age really gave me a negative impression of beer initially. My dislike of hard liquor continues today, though.

[Roy Hersh]

My parents drank next to nothing, beyond Whiskey Sour a few times a year. But I never saw either of them ever drink a beer. While my brother and I were growing up the only wine we ever got to taste was on religious holidays and once while visiting a winery in upstate NY. Otherwise, my parents didn't drink wine until late in life. My mother will drink Port, Madeira and Champagne, but that's it. My father red wine and Port.

OTOH, we began allowing our daughter to sniff and take a sip of Port at about 4 years old. Her first time though was at just under 3 weeks of age at Thanksgiving 2002, when I rubbed 1963 Taylor on her lips and gums and she smiled. My wife and my mother were not very amused by my antics, but I thought it had to be done regardless of what either of them thought.

[Eric Ifune]

My father gave me tastes of wine starting in my early teens. At first I didn't like it much, but later began to enjoy it. I blame him. At the time, I do remember liking various Ruby Reserve Ports more than any other wine.

[Roy Hersh]

Anyone else like to share?

[Eric Ifune]

My father was into wine while I was growing up. It was sorta a big deal among aerospace engineers in Southern California at the time. Summer vacations would be spent on road trips up to Napa and Sonoma. Very different vib back then. The winemakers were all still farmers back then. In retrospect, I remember meeting Louis P. Martini (serving at the wine bar!), Joseph Heitz, Charles Wagner Sr. At the time, being a kid, I was kinda bored with the whole thing; but appeciate it now. I learned to like wine. For my 21st birthday, I bought my first full case of wine, the 1978 Leoville Barton for less than $100 on sale. Still have a single bottle!

[Roy Hersh]

Eric,

Wow, very cool story!

[Tom D.]

My parents had no hesitation in offering me a sip from a very early age. They were not frequent drinkers of anything. And wine was never something they fussed over, but they always made it a part of any special gathering, even if it was Mogen David or Lancers. (Even at Easter dinner at my Mom's today, I had to smile when she insisted we all have some "Champagne" -- Cook's sparkling wine -- to celebrate!)

I thank them, because what has stuck with me is that wine is not so much about a label or a score, it's just a part of the bigger joy of sharing with friends or family.

[Michael Hann]

We have long allowed our children to sip our weekend dinner wines. Our oldest, my son who is now 22 years old, rarely took advantage of this opportunity, only sampling when the wine was unusually old -- which didn't happen too often because most of my bottles were not too old. My middle child, my oldest daughter, sips our dinner wines, once, but 95% of the time does not like them and finds them sour to her taste. She does like beer, and when I have a good German bier, she will sip that once or twice and approve it. She is 19 years old now. My youngest child, my youngest daughter, has always liked tasting our wine and these days manages to sneak two or three sips before my wife shuts her down. We remember this daughter coming down the stairs about the age of five, seeing us sipping wine at the kitche table, and pronouncing excitedly "Why-nine!!!!" Honest, in the earlier years it was always just a single sip!!! This youngest girl does like wine and seems to be able to distinguish the better wines from the lesser wines. I look forward to her being of age to drink and sharing good wines with good dinners with her. I don't think my two oldest children are going to really develop a taste for wine.

The two oldest children have not suffered from being allowed to sip wine. The youngest it is too early to tell. My guess, though, is she at least is not going to be attracted to drinking plonk out of a paper bag while driving around with reckless teenagers or under age college students.

I think that it was good for my children to see their mother and I drink responsibly and in the context of a good meal that the wine or beer was selected to accompany harmoniously.