Will you be abstaining from alcohol this month in the name of health? That seems to be the thing to do; using the New Year to kickstart your mind and body into the best possible version of You. I applaud the effort! In our “quick-fix world” most look for the easiest means to that end. Many choose a new gym membership, yet statistics show that the average gym membership started in January lasts a whopping 59 days! The next easy target; Alcohol. The global trend of not drinking alcohol in January is not new. A result of this trend has been the upsurgence of Non-Alcoholic drinks (NAs). Can NAs fill the wine void? Are there other aspects of giving up wine that you should consider?
I have spent my fair share of time not drinking alcohol, although those periods were forced due to location and not by choice. Many great people that I worked with, upon returning home, swore off alcohol, touting how good they now felt and how much weight was lost. The top drink culprit in most of those cases was beer. Not being a beer drinker and never one to drink in excess I never experienced those sobering revelations. There are well documented health benefits to giving up alcohol. Research shows that consuming even small amounts of alcohol is bad for your health. The alcohol industry has been paying attention, releasing ever better NAs. I have had some great NA beer, cider, and cocktails, but wine… To be clear, there is no such thing as a NA spirit, like Tequila, nor will there ever be. Blame science for that.
I have spoken with people who tell me that they have found a great NA wine, and I have tried a lot of them. If you have found a NA wine that you like, I envy you! I have tried several that were palatable, best used as a mixer in something like a Mimosa. The rest did not belong in your mouth! Again, blame science, we just haven’t cracked the code to good NA wine. As the level of alcohol increases, the harder it is to replicate that “palatory” experience. Because of that nothing has yet come close to the full sensory experience of a beautifully balanced Bordeaux, or a pleasurable Paso Syrah.
There was a New York Times article back in October by Boris Fishman titled “You’ll Have to Take My Glass From My Cold, Wine-Stained Hand.” He captured the thrill of wine by saying “…wine is a passport to transcendence. If water is life-giving, wine is psychedelic. Sometimes, the aroma alone is enough to kick off the time travel.” This echoes the wellness aspect of wine, which is what I missed during those forced periods of alcoholic abstinence. In good moderation opening up a bottle of wine and sharing it with good friends and loved family will give you an overwhelming sense of belonging, something that has been proven to a long and healthy life. Moderation and sharing are the KEY words here. So, continue to forge yourself into the best possible version that you can. As for me, I will be doing so in the company of those I love, sharing a bottle and the experience of a fun wine.
"Continue to forge yourself into the best possible version you can."