Wine Tasting in Grocery Stores is a Great Idea
February 26, 2007
Sometimes I get tired of drinking the same wines all the time. I’ve established that I love Bogle’s Petit Syrah and Chateau San-Michelle’s Riesling. But there are a lot of wines out there on the shelves of my grocery store, and I’ve only sampled a few dozen. I must say that I’m reluctant to buy a bottle of wine, particularly one that costs more thatn $10 a bottle, without sampling it first. That’s why I think having the occasional wine tasting in a grocery store sounds like a perfect way to open myself up to new varietals.
Sobriety advocates in Washington State disagree. They think that casual wine tasting in grocery stores could lead to underage drinking.
I call bullshit. Kids see their parents casually consuming alcohol at home. Does that make them any more likely to engage in underage drinking? I don’t know if it does or not, but you don’t hear sobriety advocates up in arms over it.
When I was a kid, my parents let me taste wine from time to time. My dad started me with a glass of wine on the Sabbath when I was 13. This has informed my attitude towards alcohol for my entire life. When I was in high school, I had nothing to rebel against. So I felt no need to get smashed at parties. And when I got to college, it took me until the end of my freshman year to drink much more than a glass of wine.
Being smart about alcohol use starts with seeing your parents be smart about alcohol use. Kids should see their parents setting a good example by placing more emphasis on the flavors of wine than the alcohol itself. That sets them up for treating wine as a culinary pleasure rather than just a way to get drunk.
Much healthier, I think.
that article about not allowing wine tastings is ridiculous. it’s a sad day when political correctness trumps personal responsibility. i don’t need a big brother government OR non profit deciding for me what i can and can’t do. dammit, i’m over 21 and i think the grocery store tastings are an awesome idea. if they’re really concerned, why don’t the obesity and diabetics ngo’s protest food samples in grocery stores? it only encourages extranneous eating.
enjoy these videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpUGukfZnzw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv0Ady8xJPA
oh and plus, if you’re super prohibitionist till 21, you end up with kids who get alcohol poisoning during freshman year because they’ve never been taught responsibility. demonstrating responsible drinking in the ‘public’ sphere (even though it’s on private property) in wine tastings would actually provide a good example for kids to follow.
ok that’s all.
As someone who grew up overseas in a country that has different drinking laws, I saw no evidence that social exposure to wine in a family setting ever led to abuse. As a 14 year old dining with my parents in a restaurant I would be able to have a glass of wine (if that’s what I wanted - more often than not it wasn’t).
On the other hand, when I came to the US for college, I saw kids get blasted out of their mind the first day they were of a legal drinking age, so much so you wouldn’t have been surprised if they didn’t survive the night.
ah yes, my dear, but you are using the dreaded “thinking for yourself” and the horrible “common sense” and these things are enemies of the paternalistic state. you stop that right now.