Jul 31, 2007
Today is my annual check up. And I don’t mind. It’s the day I get to hear an expert say to me, "Drink your bourbon every day, Tom." My doctor’s read on the literature is that the moderate consumption of alcohol, not just wine, is connected with a number of good things things that promote longevity. A few years ago when he asked about my alcohol intake (he was naturally concerned since I work in the wine industry), I told…
Jul 27, 2007
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly (YES, that is the name of a publication. Wouldn’t you have liked to be in on the meeting when the powers that be over at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who publish it all got together and decided on that name!) is reporting that Spirits is the drink most often chosen by teenagers. Forty Percent of those participating in the study identified spirits (meaning bourbon, vodka, etc.) as their preferred drink. Beer came in…
Jul 24, 2007
"Supporters of prohibition say that the cost, no matter how high, is worth the price to save families torn apart by the scourge of alcoholism. Despite a cultural ideal that frowns on drinking, alcoholism is a major problem at every level of society. The consequences are particularly severe among the working classes, where men often spend large portions of their meager daily wages on booze while their families go without adequate food or shelter." Sound familiar? It should, this could…
Jul 4, 2007
A new study shows that at some time in their lives "30.3 percent of adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives." That’s all? Just 3 in 10 have abused alcohol? I find that hard to believe. But wait, what does "abuse" mean? According to those who wrote up the study over at the "National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism", the term "abuse" is defined as "those whose excessive drinking leads to personal…
Mar 8, 2007
When I was growing up mine was a "Sebastiani House", rather than a "Gallo House". That’s not to say my mother and father were wine drinkers, but just that the jug of wine my mother always kept on hand was Sebastiani. However, there are some people, many people (millions?) in fact, that were and are "Gallo Homes". I suspect its not just the folks in the wine industry who stopped for a moment of reflection at the news that Ernest…