 ‘This
is actually the short form of one of the mandatory messages one is required
to put on every label of a wine or spirit bottle in South Africa,’
Anibal informs me. The full warning is, ‘Don't drink and walk on
the road, you may be killed’.
One already knows and hopefully follows the ubiquitous ‘Don’t
drink and drive’ health warning but why advise against walking,
I ask Anibal who is often in South Africa where he co-authors wine books
with another fellow judge and journalist Neil Pendock and buys Pinotage
grapes grown by the latter for the interesting low-cost wine he is making
for the international market along with a white wine from Vinho Verde.
He informed me that many black workers in South Africa get perpetually
drunk with cheap liquor after work and start walking home. They are so
drunk that often they get off the road and are knocked down by passing
cars.
Slightly bewildered, I asked Neil who was also at the Concours in Luxembourg, and
he confirmed the same. He also clarified that there are a few other options
for health warnings -the wine and spirits producers are required by law
to put any of those on the label. Here are some of the others that one
needs to choose out of and print on the label as a health warning:
1. Alcohol reduces driving ability, don't drink and drive.
2. Alcohol increases your risk to personal injuries.
3. Alcohol is a major cause of violence and crime.
4. Alcohol abuse is dangerous to your health.
5. Alcohol is addictive.
6. Drinking during pregnancy can be harmful to your unborn baby.
Whereas not many would justify challenging the mandatory warning, the
accidents and deaths caused by drunken driving are avoidable and unnecessary.
However, the mandatory warning on Anibal’s business card that caught
my attention, ought to make one stop and think for a minute.
It is another matter that the warnings perhaps ought not to relate to
wine when drunk in moderation (two glasses a day). However, if one were
given the option in India to choose one out of this list, the warning-
‘Don't drink and walk on the road, you may be killed’, might
be the lightest on the palate but equally communicative of the dangers
of drinking alcohol beyond limits.
Subhash Arora |