For The Love Of Port

That article may be written about women and by a woman, but the problem isn't exclusive to the fair sex.

As an alcoholic and former serious problem drinker (30 drinks a day - probably 40-45 by modern "unit" definitions) I have to agree with her premise.

Most of the people I know, in the 20-30, and 45-55 age groups (these are the ages of the bulk of my friends and acquaintances) drink a lot more than they should, and binge a lot more than they should, for best health. I do myself, although I occasionally try to cut back a bit.

I routinely drink a bottle of wine by myself over the course of an evening (13% wine=9.5 units), or split a bottle (getting the lion's share), plus a glass of white with the salad, followed by 2-3 glasses of port. When I'm not trying to cut back, I probably drink 5-6 nights a week; when I am trying to cut back, it's never less than 2 nights a week. At a long afternoon-to-evening party at home I probably drink the better part of 3 bottles. (Or more - who can count at that point? At the last such party there were 60+ empties in the morning.)

My perceptions are probably skewed because I drink and mostly hang out with other people who drink, but I see similar (if not so extreme) behavior in most of my friends and acquaintances.

So, I'm sorry to say -- Yes, I think it IS so.

(And, yes, I know you were kidding, but kidding doesn't make it less so.)

I think my husband should be drinking more Port and typing less on his computer!

Dorene H. wrote:I think my husband should be drinking more Port and typing less on his computer!

BTW, welcome to the forum, Dorene. I will guess you've seen most of it but you are posting for the first time recently, so WELCOME!

Peter W. Meek wrote:That article may be written about women and by a woman, but the problem isn't exclusive to the fair sex.

As an alcoholic and former serious problem drinker (30 drinks a day - probably 40-45 by modern "unit" definitions) I have to agree with her premise.

Most of the people I know, in the 20-30, and 45-55 age groups (these are the ages of the bulk of my friends and acquaintances) drink a lot more than they should, and binge a lot more than they should, for best health.

My perceptions are probably skewed because I drink and mostly hang out with other people who drink, but I see similar (if not so extreme) behavior in most of my friends and acquaintances.

To think how much booze I go... Always tell your primary doctor you do not drink or it will come back to haunt you when the insurers look at your medical record!

Interesting article. I suppose some of this acculturation to the drinking scene goes on at US universities too. As far as drinking to assuage feelings of "losing it" or being over the hill, perhaps that is just a kind of vanity. Certainly it can't come as a surprise that we age and that our horizons become more constrained with time.

For the last couple of months I have been on blood thinner medication pursuant to some undesirable blood clotting issues (pulmonary embollisms). The direction is that I must limit my alcohol consumption rather strictly to two 5 ounce glasses of wine per day. Some doctors, I am told, would outright forbid alcohol consumption when taking blood thinner. I have to be careful not to exceed that amount -- and indeed I do happen to exceed that amount somewhat occasionally without losing sleep, but I bear in mind that I'm playing a bit with fire when doing so. I think of myself as a moderate drinker. But at the same time, I know I would exceed the above standard (which I think is relatively close to a recommended daily alcohol consumption limit now being advocated by public health authorities) if given free rein. I like to have a glass of white wine, or two, or three while cooking on Saturday afternoon/evening; then I split a bottle of wine with my wife, very probably consuming more than my half; then I may have a small glass of Alsatian eaux-de-vie or two or three after dinner. That can add up to more alcohol than is recommended, if not quite measuring up to college fraternity rules of engagement. This experience with having to consciously limit my alcohol consumption -- and having to be conscious of my taking something of a risk when I do exceed this limit -- is probably a good thing for me. I find that I can still enjoy my cooking if I limit myself to 1 glass of wine while cooking; I can still enjoy my dinner with wine if I don't consume the entire bottle or outpace my wife's drinking; I can still enjoy the punctuation provided by a single icy small glass of mirabelle, framboise, kirsch, or poire william after a satisfying dinner without repeating the pleasure three times.

Michael reminds me: Drink better, not more.