I went to the doctor about three weeks ago, and I had to fill out an annual questionnaire about lifestyle, activity, hobbies, etc. I am sure you have filled out these before.
Several of the questions went like this: Do you drink? What kind of alcohol do you consume? How many glasses of wine? How many nights per week? More on the weekends than during the week? How long does a bottle of wine last? Red, White or Rose’? American or foreign? Etc, Etc.
I left it all blank. All of it depended on the week, what was happening in our life, lots of things. We usually have wine three or four nights a week. We have some on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at a minimum. Sometimes on Saturday we have wine or not. It depends on the meal and what is going on.
We have salmon every Wednesday night and usually have a glass of red with our meal. About ½ of the time, we will only have one glass and save the rest of the bottle. On Friday, we have salmon again and we usually finish off the rest of the red that we opened for Wednesday.
We usually have baked chicken on Sundays, and we usually have a glass, maybe two, of white with dinner. It just depends on the Sunday. We might have a small glass of Sauvignon Blanc on Sunday afternoon around 3:30 or 4:00. Then when we sit down for dinner at 6:00 we will usually finish off the bottle with a glass and a half with the meal. Some Sundays, it is just one glass.
During the week it’s a toss-up. We might have a glass on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday or not. We don’t have a rigid schedule. And we don’t keep a chart of when we have it or when we don’t. Last Thursday we had a pitcher of margaritas, with chili and chips. Thursday was “one” of those days.
The correct answer to the question on the form was really, “None of your business!” I knew the purpose of the questions. But there are so many mixed reviews of what is the proper amount of alcohol to have, by age, by sex, by health conditions, etc. that I did not feel like filling it out. So I didn’t.
Does it really matter? I know two guys who see cardiologists who practice in the same office. One guy’s doctor tells him that he has no alcohol restrictions. The other guy’s doc, tells him “No alcohol!” Different docs, same office or practice, and they do not agree on what is best as a standard. The standard is, “It depends.”
So do I drink a lot of wine? I don’t think so. You are a grown up. You can decide for yourself if you drink a lot of wine or not.
Want to share tips, advice, and opinions? Why not leave a comment at the end of this article and let other readers know.
Until next time, let me know what is on your mind, and how you are doing, O.K.?
Jim Fortune
The Wine Sleuth
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