The Sun-Herald

Why we should avoid winge drinking

I've been thinking a lot about drinking lately, and this news story about late developing tipplers has me pondering the subject even more.

In this job, alcohol is ubiquitous. When you work days in an office, everyone has a bottle of water or a cup of coffee on their desk but when you work nights at parties, no-one is ever without a glass of wine, champagne or some specially created cocktail. In the party world that is my office, booze is the oil, the currency, the constant guest and often the actual raison d'etre for every gathering.
And so I see the entire spectrum of drinkers. I witness the angry, the sad, the silly, the indiscreet, the exhibitionist and even the abstainer. And I often wonder: how much is enough?
According to that news report, some booze - especially wine - is better than none, but not too much. That makes sense, of course. Moderation always does.
But I also believe when you're drinking, attitude is just as important as amount. It certainly defines my own relationship with booze. For me, if it isn't happy drinking, I simply don't do it.
I've just had one of those months scripted by Satan; a time when no-one would blame a person for reaching into the booze cupboard and its medicinal temptations without restraint. But despite the presence of some very decent premium vodkas and a sexy, peaty malt whisky, I haven't. I don't drink for consolation or for comfort, whether alone or in company. I want my bond with the bottle to be purely celebratory. I drink only in good times, with good people.
I was brought up both to enjoy and respect alcohol - wine, especially. As soon as I was talking, Dad taught me to say 'In Vino Veritas' - truth in wine. He did it mainly to shock the neighbours, but at the same time he bequeathed a piece of Yoda-like wisdom. There is a particular moment wine drinkers know. It's like that time in the late afternoon film-makers call the 'magic hour', when the light is luminous and three-dimensional, and you see the world with a special kind of clarity.
With wine and me, something similar happens at the second glass. Thoughts focus, insights flow and solutions arrive so rapidly I often write them down (and yes, they're still viable in the morning). Several glasses later, of course, come the crazy schemes: the plans for world domination, the sea-change visions and the inventions, but the two-glass truths are trustworthy. In these moments I've looked at the man across the restaurant table and known without doubt he's not right for me. I've decided to make a career move, leave a country or gamble on a hunch. I've never regretted a single choice I've made at the second glass, and I know myself well enough to ignore the later ones.
It only works though, if that wine is drunk in the spirit of optimism, with a happy heart and preferably in the company of great friends. And I guess that then you could argue that it isn't the wine at all causing the inspirations and epiphanies, but the mindset.
I don't think that matters, nor do I know anything useful about the potential physical health benefits attached to alcohol. But I do believe booze can be your buddy - as long as you keep it as a fair weather friend.