Wine is equated with spirits, cocktails and aperitifs solely because of the existence of the alcohol they share. This detrimental equation has gone on for far too long. It seems imperative to emphasize the fact that there are three basic categories of alcohol:

Wine as an alcohol by fermentation. This has been an unchanged process for the last 10,000 years or so, since man made the first wine by a fortuitous accident- a result of yeasts, the fermentation agents of fermentation settle on grape berries and set off a process that is by far the most natural and organic by far. The alcohol thus produced is the essential, primordial constituent of wine, which includes about 3 percent of other components, the rest being water.

Alcohol by distillation. This is produced by the enrichment of alcohol by means of industrial distillation. It results from the producer’s need to achieve a higher alcohol content and thus bring the beverage into the category of spirits. During distillation, most of the other elements of wine are lost.

Alcohol as an additive. This refers to the intentional addition of distilled alcohol for the production of drinks such as aperitifs and cocktails. Such drinks are totally deprived of the elements of wine, in a regulated percentage in the mixture with water, coloring matter and flavorings. Even though the molecular components may be the same, the nature and function of the alcohol present in wine are profoundly different from those of spirits or fabricated drinks.

Wine is a cultural product

No other beverage of the western world has the cultural or historical depth of wine, with its roots in the humanities, history, culture, philosophy, geography, landscape, tradition, and religion. In the book of Genesis written about 3500 years ago, after surviving the flood and descending from the ark, Noah first planted the vine so that wine could be enjoyed in company as sustenance and joy.

With the ongoing demonization of alcohol, confusion becomes highly penalizing for wine. Thus producers, consumers and communicators feel compelled to uphold the image of wine as separate from that of spirits or fabricated drinks.

Our aim is not to establish hierarchies or to incite competition between different types of products, but only to provide maximum clarity to consumers convinced that the effect of drinking wine is similar, or indeed identical, to that of drinking spirits or fabricated alcoholic beverages. That notion is grossly incorrect and misleading, precisely because the obvious manner and customs of drinking wine are primarily in company and with meals.

So next time you have a glass of Gaja Barbaresco, any Barbaresco or in fact any wine, think of the positives.

Angelo Gaja

‘What have we done or not done to get here? At this level of human stupidity that forces us to ask ourselves how an agricultural product from an 8000-year-old history, which has accompanied the development of humanity, has spread in our countries thanks to the Greeks and then the Romans. How can wine, which is intimately linked to the world of arts, literature, poetry, theater and of course gastronomy can  now be reduced to a “harmful and virtuous alcoholic product”, says another wine producer from Rhone Valley, Michel Blanc? There can be quotes from thousands of such producers who have been producing wine since generations.

Obviously, in the ‘war of words’ between the pro- wine faction and the neo prohibitionists, the latter have been able to raise their ugly heads with half- baked information. There have been hundreds of studies which have pro-wine and health drinking wine in moderation. Still not convinced? Watch out for Articles written by experts and as evidenced by studies. Though we recommend you talk to your doctor who has an open mind and adequate knowledge, and continue our Advisory- Drinking better quality of 2 glasses of wine, if you are man, though our women subscribers should limit it to only one glass, 4-6 glasses a week. Binge drinking is totally discouraged. Drink preferably red wine and preferably with meals for health reasons. -Editor