Deep in the 1970’s, with the backdrop of an extended California drought, I distinctly remember a bumper sticker that our father had plastered onto his Alfa Romeo: “Save Water, Drink Wine”. It was of course tongue in cheek, but even so it proposed a dubious solution to an intermittent problem.
It’s hard to read the news these days without tripping across another article that the right amount of alcohol for you is none at all. Vague echoes of the “fat-free” food era that peaked in the 1980’s come to mind, and we all know how that turned out. The pendulum swings hard in America. Instead of dry months and really wet months, how about a series of moderate months?
May I recommend a read: Edward Slingerland’s Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization. This book might surprise you, as it is not a full-throated defense of drinking to excess, as you might expect. However, it does describe alcohol’s crucial role in relaxing your pre-frontal cortex’s grip on your brain. And with that loosening a deep well of creativity, socializing, and community building begins – the very core of being human.
Wine is an astonishing, complex beverage that springs from the earth, with much human guidance along the way. Over the years, a host of lower-alcohol wines have sprung from our Rabbit Hole where some of our most inventive winemaking takes place, including Máslás (6.5% abv), Pear Blanc (10%), and Apricot Blanc (10%). We’ll keep tinkering there and let you know if we’re able to make something 0.0%, or close to it, that is actually delicious, since we won’t compromise on that.
Wine is neither good for you nor bad for you, as is the case for most things in life. We seek balance – in our wines, and in our lives. So before you abstain from cars, flying, alcohol, and other daily activities may one day kill you…consider balance this Spring and beyond.
Drink less. Drink better. Pair some wine with some fine food or fine friends. In your final hours on this journey of life, we guarantee that it is not something you will regret.