“THE MOMENT HAS ARRIVED TO TAKE ACTION.” ONE OF THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE NAMES IN ITALIAN WINE, ANGELO GAJA, TAKES PEN IN HAND TO PUT FORWARD SOME PROPOSALS FOR THE WORLD OF WINE THAT IS INCREASINGLY ASSOCIATED WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

With ever increasing frequency, alcohol is accused of being a drug, lumped together with all other types of alcoholic beverages. And very recently, this idea was reiterated in a publication by the British scientific magazine “Lancet”, which published a study(24 March 2007), by two very well-known pharmacologists of the sector. These two experts have compiled a classification list of the risk levels of 20 legal and illegal drugs, with alcohol coming in at fifth place, following directly behind real drugs. The “Lancet” article was then taken as a front-page article on “The Guardian” and “The Times”, creating an echo throughout many other European dailies, including Italian newspapers.

But why is alcohol a drug? Because, in cases of abuse, it creates dependence? Yet, at a closer look, even excesses in food (carbohydrates, animal fat, sugar), though in large part don’t create any dependence, can still be the cause of certain pathologies, sometimes irreversible.
According to the data listed by “Lancet” the topic is certainly not a joke: deaths caused by alcohol abuse far surpass deaths caused by drug abuse; an elevated percentage of auto accidents are attributed with certainty to drunk drivers.
But we Italians don’t need to get this data from an English magazine: Italian associations combating alcohol abuse have sustained the same arguments for many years now and have called for measures to be taken.

How has the wine world confronted this situation?

By sustaining that abuse is caused by the consumption of other types of alcohol. By sustaining that the moderate consumption of wine is beneficial to one’s health, making use of the numerous studies that have scientifically demonstrated this assertion. By sustaining that it has strong cultural values, that are part of our society, and that pathologies cannot invalidate its value.

Even though, to tell the truth, wine producers know very well that wine cannot be pulled away from its accusations because wine can be easily abused out and about as well as in the privacy of one’s home.

Is it possibly time to change strategy?
What if, instead of remaining in the trenches, wine producers took initiative by demonstrating a greater sensitivity towards those who do see alcohol as a drug?

I’ll try to propose a few ideas.
Advertising: repeatedly in the past, exponents of associations/communities for rehabilitation have asked Italian Parliament to create a ban on the advertising of hard liquors, but without any success. Taking as a given that it is abuse that creates dependence, wine producers, instead, should be the ones to invoke a special discipline for the advertising of all alcoholic beverages, including wine, for more restrictive norms on the limitations of alcohol that, to the contrary, is not necessary to impose on food producers.

Separating the image of wine from that of other alcoholic beverages: does the alcohol factor unite all alcoholic beverages?
Wine producers, and there are many more of them than any other type of alcohol producer, do not think this is true at all. The difference between wine and other alcoholic drinks is profound. Wine, as is known, derives from the alcoholic fermentation of grapes; this occurs for three months during the year, at the beginning of autumn, with a starting and an end, and with a prohibition on fermentation throughout the rest of the year. There are many producers who cultivate their own prime material – grapes - and then transform it and then sell the wine themselves.

Alcohol is formed naturally in wine, without additives, without the separation of other components. Wine, as opposed to other alcoholic drinks, is usually consumed together with food, a rite that has its roots in a thousands of years old history and culture. Winemakers have a profoundly different way of operating than distillers or those who make dilutions of a mix of aromatic substances and coloring. Setting up a serious and rigorous scientific study, that allows for the comparison of the beneficial effects of wine when accompanied by food, and less beneficial effects of other alcoholic drinks that are consumed outside of meals, has today become more necessary than ever.

Consuming less: Producers should be more prudent in invoking initiatives/measures geared towards increasing per capita consumption of wine in Italy. The 40-50 liters that are currently drunk per year are already very high. And the consumption levels of 10, 20, 30 years ago are no longer possible. Wine, at this point, has already lost its antique connotation as a food, having transformed into a good that is an exquisite luxury.
Lifestyles have changed due to widespread wellbeing, of the consciousness of safeguarding one’s health, of an increased desire to keep one’s own body running and in shape. It is an illusion to hope for an increase of the 28 million hectoliters of wine that are already consumed each year in Italy. While it is more realistic to think of sharing the same quantity with more consumers, educating even more people on the pleasures of wine when consumed with moderation.

Spreading awareness on the dangers of abuse: among the producers of Langa, there was once the tradition of welcoming guests into their winery with a small glass of their best wine. Because of this they were accused of being stingy; instead they had respect for their wine, a precious drink that should not be “tossed down”, and they had respect for their guests, because, without having to say so, they knew of the risks of alcoholism. Today, it could be asked that organizers of the numerous wine fairs and expo’s that take place in Italy create mechanisms at exits that can measure blood alcohol levels: obviously a voluntary test, without the presence of public officials, it would allow those who have drunk to be aware of the fact that they may have surpassed the limits allowed by law, thus becoming conscious of the consequent dangers of driving, and possibly choosing to wait a few hours before doing so. And possibly the next time they will know how to taste with more moderation.

It would also be necessary to prohibit producers who, during fairs, do not offer tasters the possibility to spit out their wines: especially among those who lack the professionalism to think that their wines are so important, so good, that they cannot be spit out after tasting.

Producers can and must do their part to communicate the culture of educated drinking.

Angelo Gaja