When we speak about sustainable wine culture, we often neglect a basic component of this equation: drinking responsibly.
Over the past decade, the wine and grape industry has seen a shift in consumption habits. A growing number of consumers are opting for higher-quality wines as part of a healthier, more modern and sustainable lifestyle.
Implicit in these changing patterns is the idea of drinking responsibly. But what exactly does this mean?
According to Wine in Moderation, leaders in the promotion of sustainable wine culture, drinking responsibly is, as the organization’s name implies, a question of moderation. And moderation comes down to three key concepts: choose, share, and care.
Choosing responsibly means making informed decisions about drinking alcoholic beverages. It is about deciding when to drink and when not to drink, as well as respecting the people around us and the wine itself. Let’s examine this idea a little closer.
We should consider our wine consumption choices within the context of a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Recent studies presented by the Wine Information Council identified five specific factors that define such a lifestyle: no smoking, a normal body weight, moderate or vigorous physical exercise, a balanced diet, and a responsible consumption of wine/alcoholic beverages.
The decision to include the responsible consumption of wine as a healthy lifestyle factor remains contentious.
After all, consuming alcohol is linked to a variety of risks and health challenges, which have been systematically and widely studied for many years. The results led the World Health Organization (WHO) to publish a statement in The Lancet in 2018 asserting that, when it comes to alcohol, there is no such thing as a safe amount – even the smallest quantity impacts our health.
Yet while working on The Lancet’s Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study published in 2022, the same scientists amended their own earlier data. In other words, a new analysis suggests that recommendations on how much a person can drink without exposing themselves to health risks should be based on their age and local disease rates.
According to these new results, a moderate intake of wine/alcoholic beverages by people over the age of 40 can provide certain health benefits, such as a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
This leads us to the second key concept: sharing.
Wine in Moderation explains that “when drinking a glass of wine, the amount you drink is not the only important factor, how you consume it will also matter: this is known as your ‘drinking pattern’”. In other words, enjoying a glass of wine with a meal and in good company makes a difference – so does taking the time to savour the wine.
Available evidence suggests that a light or moderate consumption of wine with food, as part of a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, also contributes to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The WHO ranks the Mediterranean diet as one of the healthiest and most balanced in the world. It is characterized by a high intake of vegetable-based foods, olive oil, moderate amounts of fish and fowl, and low quantities of dairy, red meat, processed foods, and sweets.
Drinking moderate amounts of wine with food is an integral part of Mediterranean eating habits. Furthermore, if we alternate our intake of wine with that of a non-alcoholic beverage like water, our body will respond differently than if we only drink alcohol.
The last key concept is care, as in taking care to avoid excessive and irresponsible drinking.
It is undeniable that consuming excessive amounts of wine or other alcoholic beverages is related to accidents, injuries, and higher health risks. For instance, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in a sitting, such as binge drinking at the weekend, increases the risk of hypertension, heart attacks, and hemorrhagic stroke.
Drinking alcohol is dangerous during pregnancy and can impair our ability to carry out certain activities, such as driving.
In addition to these risks, we must also consider the social consequences of excessive alcohol consumption, which can lead to violence and inflict harm on communities, families, and other people close to us.
Enjoying wine in moderation is therefore also an expression of care towards ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities.
Wine is important in many cultures and traditions. It isn’t simply a product that contains alcohol, but a drink steeped in a long, rich tradition with a history that spans millennia. As professionals of the wine and grape sector, we have a responsibility to this tradition — a responsibility that includes developing business models that encourage moderate drinking patterns among our consumers and clients, as well as being conscientious in how we leverage the positive attributes of wine.
Marta Juega, PhD.