Tim James: Are heavy wine drinkers responding to health warnings?
By Tim James, 27 January 2025
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As Dry January comes to an end (without my participation) the alcohol industries, including wine, are still beset with health alarmism – and nervous of the consequences of further reduced consumption. One relevant headline, cited by Drinks Business last week, particularly interested and rather amused me: “The Alcohol Industry is Hooked on Its heaviest drinkers”, it announced. The article itself was behind the paywall in The Wall Street Journal, but a teaser indicated its central point as being that “the alcohol industry depends on people who drink more than public-health officials say is safe”. All I could see further was the opening of the article, which went: “While many drinkers cut back, some people who consume 15 or more drinks a week say they are unfazed by health risks; ‘It is delicious poison’”.
That heavy-drinker unfazedness makes sense, whether one is talking of those with genuine addiction problems or just people who drink a lot (by all the official measures). I’m one of the latter – I’ll mention my response to health concerns later – and my observations over the years would indicate that most people involved in the wine industry are also heavy drinkers, many much heavier than I am.
So I thought I’d ask my monthly wine-tasting group of 11 people who are all professionally involved in wine (making, distributing, judging, teaching or writing about the stuff), how they felt. As serious drinkers, had their consumption been affected, consciously or unconsciously, over the last few years by the increasing volume of evidence – or at least noise – about the health dangers of alcohol consumption? Basically, have they cut down? A little? A lot?
I think I was expecting in response a pretty universal agreement that they had been and remained heavy drinkers, despite the health buzz. But the picture that emerged from their responses was a great deal more nuanced that. Wine writer Angela Lloyd reminded me that she’d never been a big drinker (though by the standards of most health authorities, having at least a glass a day, sometimes more, and sometimes going to tastings as well, is excessive). But she made a point that “more and more my body tells me when I’ve had enough…. So, I take signs from my body and the deliciousness of the wine itself to tell me how much to drink, rather than governmental decrees about health dangers of alcohol consumption.”
The essence of that was repeated by some others. Master of Wine Cathy van Zyl, for example, said she’d seen the reports, “but my behaviour has not been affected by them”. On the other hand, she added, “As I get older, I find my capacity has shrunk”. For WSET educator Cathy Marston, it’s “not messaging that’s slowed me down, more menopause”. Winemaker Chris Williams said that his consumption “has declined a little in the last five years, not really as a result of media reports about the dangers of alcohol but just because desire to drink as much and as often has declined. I drink less volume but better quality.”
It must be said that the group includes people moving out of middle age, and some already moved. Reading these comments, I realised that my own modest reduction in drinking in recent years (which I actually hadn’t thought about much) is probably partly ascribable to my body prompting more caution in ingesting alcohol. But it also partly resulted, more consciously, from a vague concern about my ageing body as well as a wish to cut down on my calorific intake and thus inhibit weight-gain. I try to have a dry Monday, if not a dry January, and I generally drink a bit less wine the rest of the week these days. However, a bigger part of my alcohol intake, compared with some years ago, is now accounted for by brandy; I’m not quite sure why – perhaps I need the punch. Nearly everyone else mentioned that they stick to wine alone – perhaps with beer, and the occasional G&T.
Two people did talk specifically about health issues as (in addition) contributing to lower consumption. Ingrid Motteux, who does have professional links to the medical world as well as being a wine distributor, said that she had cut down, “not because of government messaging /information /misinformation but because I’ve personally witnessed the deleterious effects of alcohol – wine, not even spirits. I love drinking (interesting) wine but am aiming (largely) to drink socially these days. Or at least more mindfully.”
And Nicola Tipping, who works for Mullineux, has also cut down for complex reasons – not, she says, because of media reports: “My body just can’t take as much anymore!”. Add in a wish to lose weight, and also to help drugs for some minor medical problems, and she is “also trying just social drinking”. Without giving specific reasons, Platter’s judge Meryl Weaver says she and her husband “have cut down our wine consumption slightly, but easily share a bottle of wine a night while we prep supper and during the meal”.
So to the younger members for a different take. Francois Haasbroek (most notably of Blackwater Wines) is obviously fit and strong, and works at that. He says he’s under no illusion about his alcohol consumption (mostly wine and the occasional beer) being helpful here. “I justify it purely on the pleasure I get from experiencing lovely wine.” He was the first to put his alcohol consumption in the context of other dangers: ultra-processed foods could, he says, “likely shave more years of my life” than the hardly excessive (by my standards, if not my doctor’s) amount of wine he drinks. Another middle-aged winemaker, Gottfried Mocke of Boekenhoutskloof and Cap Maritime, is also clearly not an excessive drinker of wine, and gives himself dry days.
Wine distributor and former sommelier David Clarke was the most bullish: “I have made no changes to my wine consumption in response to the volume of noise about the alleged health dangers. I remain as curious and beguiled by the stuff as ever. My consumption remains pretty steady.” (Note that “alleged health dangers” – a uniquely sceptical note in this line-up! Ah to be young….) He also drinks beer every day. When I pressed him about how much, David was reluctant to work it out, and says that he’s guessing when he estimates his average consumption over a month as being about a bottle a day. Which is much what it would have been for me ten and more years ago.
I confess I was surprised at the results of this little poll – revealing more restraint in consumption than I’d expected. And more people indicating a reduction in recent years. I wonder if those reductions (including mine) are really quite independent of the health warnings that have been crescendoing for a while now – perhaps the alarms have been unconsciously taken a little to heart.
Of course this isn’t a statistically meaningful poll, but an interesting one, I think. And the results will be a little more pleasing to doctors than to wine-producers.
- Tim James is one of South Africa’s leading wine commentators, contributing to various local and international wine publications. His book Wines of South Africa – Tradition and Revolution appeared in 2013.
Justus | 28 January 2025
“I don’t DRINK wine”. Most of the quoted respondents in Tim’s article would best be described as “responsible ” or “moderate” drinkers, for whom the health warnings are irrelevant. The English language has a deficit as there is no differentiation in expressions between drinking to quench thirst (nobody would drink wine after a through session in the gym to fill up fluid deficits) and enjoying wine in moderate quantities. So consuming wine for enjoyment in moderate quantities is uncomfortably labeled with the same expression as substance abuse. Here is where the health issues come in: There is enough good scientific evidence for moderate wine consumption (less than 250 to 500 ml/day, depending on alcoholic strength of the wine) to have significant health benefits, especially when consumed with meals. We as wine lovers should therefore differentiate ourselves linguistically from substance abuse type of drinking for which health warnings are meant. I therefore suggest, that those who consume moderate amounts of wine for enjoyment refer to it by a different word to emphasize the difference to unhealthy DRINKING wine. When asked I therefore reply: No, I don’t DRINK wine. I DRINK water, but I ENJOY good wine. ’nuff said.
Greg Sherwood | 27 January 2025
Two of the most relevant “harm mitigating” factors for regular “healthy” wine consumption (even at elevated levels) is of course the alcohol level in the wines (12-12.5% versus 14-14.5%) making a very significant difference health wise. The second is timing of consumption, with most regular Mediterranean-style drinkers mostly only consuming wine accompanied by food. This, according to recent research, has a massive difference on the potential harm the alcohol does to your body greatly reducing negative side effects. Lastly, and it’s an old chestnut, I would add quality of wine to the equation. Every professional wine trade member has experienced evenings where they have almost had a hangover from drinking just a couple of cheap glasses of wine, yet equally, have been on rather larger, extended, fine wine drinking sessions with some of the finest wines in the world, yet feeling as clear headed and strong the next morning as if no alcohol was consumed at all. Quality is king. So not all alcohol consumption is equal, making it even more difficult to generalise.
Kwispedoor | 27 January 2025
I’ve cut down on my Merlot consumption since I first heard reports that we’re living in a mostly hot and dry country. 😆