The Anniversary of No More “Wine Excuses”
Today marks an important anniversary in the history of wine in America. Well, actually it’s an important anniversary in the effects of wine on the American society.
No doubt there was a time when wine was responsible for more than just a buzz, hangover or unusual activities by the imbiber. Wine was responsible for, well, let’s call it "accidents". There was a time when a couple had a life long affinity for a particular wine because it led unexpectedly to a child.
You planned on sharing a glass of wine. Then it became two glass. Two glasses became a bottle of wine. All of a sudden the inhibitions are relinquished. And before you know it…well, life changed and you found you were no longer sleeping though the night. Instead, you were getting up every couple of hours to comfort a crying baby.
Enter Griswold Vs. Connecticut…the Supreme Court case that struck down laws forbidding the use of birth control by married couples. Griswold V Connecticut was delivered 40 years ago today.
With birth control perfectly legal, no longer could couples blame little Timmy on those two bottles of Chianti. The legalization of birth control meant the blame was transferred to a forgetful wife or two a couple’s really too optimistic faith in beating the odds.
So tonight, you married couples raise a glass, close the curtains and celebrate Griswold v. Connecticut.
Well, that was an amusing and odd spin on the significance of Griswold, considering it is mostly remembered for opening the door to the “right of privacy” in other contexts – abortion (Roe v. Wade relied substantially on Griswold, with its “zone of privacy” language) and sodomy laws, in particular.
Of course, wine can still be blamed if, carried away in a moment of wine-induced passion, proper birth control precautions are not taken (whether ingested or worn).
Once at a dinner, while I pouring out the last drops of a very good red into his date’s glass, an Italian friend cautioned me that one should never pour the last of a bottle into a woman’s glass because “there’s a baby in every bottle”.