Since I write a column for a Spanish gastronomy publication, I often find myself reading wine magazines to see what’s out there pleasing palates these days. I do wish I could be one of those people who delights in taking small delicate sniffs and dainty sips of a prized vintage before making learned comments in which I would toss around terms such as oaky and smoky. Alas, back in the day I tended to do much more swigging and swilling than I ever did swishing and sipping and therefore, it’s always a bit hard for me to relate to the whole world of wine-tasting. Tasting is all well and good but what’s the point really if you can’t go on to guzzle? That’s what I always say anyway. I guess that’s one of the reasons I no longer drink…
 
Back to my point. I was recently flipping through the June issue of Decanter magazine when I came across an article that really irritated me. It was called “How to Get Your Kids into Wine.”  Author Beverley Blanning kicks off by writing  about how horrible it is that the UK government has actually given the warning that “Parents and young people should be aware that drinking, even at age 15 or older, can be hazardous to health and not drinking is the healthiest option for young people.”
 
Blanning seems to be genuinely perplexed as to how the government can warn that drinking might be hazardous when magazines such as Decanter exist. Obviously, reasons Blanning, there are plenty of people who enjoy wine for reasons other than its alcohol content so isn’t the government overreacting just a bit? “There has to be an alternative message about wine for children, a way to install an appreciation of its essential qualities from an early age; one that could arguably save them from likely abuse.” Blanning’s solution to this problem is a bit fuzzy but seems to mainly involve sharing the virtues of wine with your children rather than demonizing it and allowing them to taste if it they’re interested.
 
What really bugged me about this article was that Blanning seems to believe that abuse of alcohol amongst young people happens solely as a form of rebellion against unenlightened and puritanical parents who tell their kids that drinking is bad. Furthermore, she implies that readers of the magazine are less likely to have to worry about abuse in the first place. At one point she writes, “So what is the best way to teach children about responsible enjoyment of wine? And, assuming Decanter readers’ children aren’t the types to tear up the streets after a glass, what is the best way to actually encourage a genuine interest in wine?” Ah, if only my parents had read Decanter- I never would have developed a drinking problem!
 
Nowhere in the article does Blanning use the word “alcoholism.” Instead, she downplays the problems that can arise from drinking wine, comparing its dangers to the hazards that can come from excessive consumption of salt, sugar, or processed foods. She also trots out that tired old maxim about all the Europeans who grow up drinking wine at the dinner table as children and then go on to become deliriously happy and high-functioning non-alcoholic adults. Why does this myth continue to perpetuate?  I live in Europe and just as it is in the US, adolescent binge drinking is a huge problem in countries such as France and Spain.
 
I don’t believe in teaching children that all drinking is bad and dangerous. I do, however, think that it’s crucial to educate them responsibly. This means that while it’s fine to extol the virtues of wine, it’s just as important to discuss its possible health risks as well, and to remember that alcoholism is a problem that affects all levels of society — even the children of Decanter magazine subscribers.

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  Posted by: Johanna Bailey