I'm 80 years old, came to this country from France at age 20. I've enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner for all my years, and have NEVER been drunk, or interested in switching to hard liquor. I thank my parents for having wine as a normal part of daily life, and therefore not something to "crave". My first experience in the States was being asked to chaperone students at a party at the University of Illinois, where I was working, and being horrified by the lack of control of students for whom "drinking/getting drunk" equalled "being an adult"... Thank you to the Kristof family for making wine a pleasure, and not something to abuse or be ashamed of.
My French grandmother gave me a bit of wine since I was a small child. It was never a big deal in our family so I never went crazy drinking when I turned 21 like my friends did. French culture is much more sensible about wine.
Wine, cider, beer -- all have lineages that stretch back across millennia, when their makers learned and perfected their crafts and shared their handiwork in celebration with family and community. That pride of craft and spirit of celebration comes across in your post, Nick. Cheers!
Thanks, Tim! We agree: No doubt wine and cider have been abused for millennia, but for millennia they have also brought people together, been used for sacraments, and fundamentally added to the joy of living across cultures. Handle with care, yes, but don't forget the glory of a great Pinot!
Congratulations, Nick & Co., for the remarkable ratings on your wines, no less in your first year! And please don’t allow anyone to rain on your joyful parade. That’s a tremendous family accomplishment! Now PLEASE pass me a glass!
Sorry Nick but alcoholism starts with the first sip. Granted there are folks who can control that impulse to stop at 1 glass. A child doesn’t have that impulse control. I don’t drink. Not even at holidays…I have to drive home after dinner SOBER. So how did I get so strait laced??? I watched my mother drink herself into a grave at age 14. I was the last one to see her alive and well.
In my opinion prohibition is part of the alcohol problem, yes, there are people genetically predisposed to addiction, but as Dominique Smith and Kristin Newton said, the French culture is more sensible about wine, and if wine is a part of normal life, then it is not something you crave.
Congratulations! It’s a pleasant article, sharing your farm and family, encouraging connection by having a glass of wine now and then, but I sense it’s under a veil of pretense to sell your good wine, even bringing the (ugly) prez-elect into the article —good excuse to have a glass. But honestly, why not grow food! Organic vegetables, fruits like apples or cherries. Then you’re really contributing. Think of the engagement & community of tending the land and harvesting your crops; everyone will reap the benefits! If you want to help the homeless in your state, give ‘em a shovel.
Congratulations on such a great start for the Winery. A good pinot noir is just the best. I appreciate the quest for guidance and evidence on how much is too much. As with many things, my experience is individual and will not necessarily mean what is good for me is good for others. I seem to be able to enjoy a slight buzz, but my son is in recovery from alcohol abuse, and has found he can't have anything. I am looking forward to more on this topic from your research.
Alcohol has been a part of human existence from almost the origins of our species. Biblical stories illustrate the range of this debate from abuse to miracle to celebration to sacrament. I have seen all of this like you have. I lost a dear close friend to suicide by alcohol, but I would find life dreary if I could not share a drink with friends. I am lucky in that I can moderate my consumption, but I am at a loss on how to answer the issues of addiction. My own philosophy is to encourage moderation, respect those that must abstain, and discourage abuse, but avoid being a prig.
I am one of those people who drink very rarely (ussually to celebrate New Year as others - happy New Year to everyone, by the way!), because... just after a glass, or even a half of a glass, of wine I am getting sad. Let us stop associating drinking always only with a joy, especially that there is a strong connection between heavy drinking and depression, and many claim that low mood comes first i.e. people who feel low start to drink to get into better mood based on what they hear around, but end up getting so much worse.
I love these Kristof Farms updates, and I love reading all things Kristof-plus, I'm super happy you are finding such joy and happiness in farming, family, etc. I come from a large family- both sets of my great-grandparents died in institutions from Alcohol abuse, and my brother is alone and struggling with alcoholism, I have cousins, nephews, many, many in my family and extended family have suffered untold horrors due to alcohol and its abuse. Your article mentions "one-fifth of those who drink develop alcohol use disorder." ONE FIFTH! To me, this is the bottom line of the horrible consequences alcohol perpetrates on those who drink it. I love that you're happy but I wish you had taken up some other kind of farming. Sad that this comes out the same day as the NYTimes article: "Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said." I know alcohol is a strong lifestyle choice that many families feel they can not give up. It's like anything else we consume: if we stop, over time we will find other things we like, and our bodies will quit craving it. Alcohol consumption destroys lives in so many ways. It doesn't destroy everyone's life. But 1/5 of those you know and love who consume, or will consume it? Is that worth it to keep supporting such a dangerous substance?
Silly question, but as I am here and not the commercial website, do you have sales agents in Europe, specifically UK, or is the offer solely for American continent folks?
I've lived long enough to know that most attitudes are temporal and certainly cultural, and that today's moderation is tomorrow's extreme and vice versa. A glass of wine at dinner might seem a moderate custom in France whereas 7 glasses of wine weekly now approaches "heavy drinking" for American women. Most folks can manage a little alcohol daily and maybe a wee bit more for festivities, but some can't handle any -- just like chocolate cake. A piece on one's birthday isn't a problem but eating an entire cake on a random Tuesday is. So, as with cake, the question isn't whether the product's "good" or "bad," it's whether it creates a problem for the individual, in which case that individual's responsible for curbing their misuse of it. It would be great if society offered resources to help folks having problems with anything, be it cake, bourbon or poker slots. We tried Prohibition -- it didn't work. Why not try helping individual folks with their struggles rather than banning problematic products for everybody?
I believe in moderation in all things. One problem with government and religion is that everything seems black or white, right or left, one extreme or the other. I got very frustrated, for example, with the rent moratoriums during Covid. I agreed that renters needed help, but the laws assumed that all “landlords” were big and rich. They didn’t make exceptions for seniors who rented rooms in their homes in order to pay their mortgages. My now-husband was one of those folks. No one in government would give me the time of day when I tried to point this out. My husband had a renter in his home who went full on alcoholic and stopped paying rent as soon as those moratoriums passed. She could pay. She chose not to. She also got abusive.
I know there are people who take advantage and people who can’t control their urges. But I believe that the majority could moderate if that was the societal and governance position. If there were exceptions made. If what ifs were considered.
I wrote about this issue recently on Medium.com, my preferred platform.
The extremes can’t win long term. They always tend to try to make the rest of us do things their way. And eventually the other extreme moves in. We need moderation, compromise, middle ground. Like what you advocate.
This is well written and is much appreciated in many ways. However, the research does not seem to include addiction which occurs in people who may be unaware of it. That you have so many gatherings that promote community building is a blessing to the world. May this typoe of gathering continue to build on the kinds of communication with others that it takes to have a healthy well built community, the kind that spreads elswhere due to those factors that you embody so well. I would ask just this - in your gatherings do you offer non-alcoholic beverages for those who know that even one drink of alcohol is dangerous for them. To be included without imbibing is a grace that can be overlooked when it is so simple to welcome all. By offering the variety of possibilities that include non-alcoholic drinks will surely negate any necessity to rely on research to proive that you are doing the graceful thing. Inclusiveness is a key here and not being able to taste your delicious wine is difficult enough without having to make a show of it!
I'm 80 years old, came to this country from France at age 20. I've enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner for all my years, and have NEVER been drunk, or interested in switching to hard liquor. I thank my parents for having wine as a normal part of daily life, and therefore not something to "crave". My first experience in the States was being asked to chaperone students at a party at the University of Illinois, where I was working, and being horrified by the lack of control of students for whom "drinking/getting drunk" equalled "being an adult"... Thank you to the Kristof family for making wine a pleasure, and not something to abuse or be ashamed of.
My French grandmother gave me a bit of wine since I was a small child. It was never a big deal in our family so I never went crazy drinking when I turned 21 like my friends did. French culture is much more sensible about wine.
Wine, cider, beer -- all have lineages that stretch back across millennia, when their makers learned and perfected their crafts and shared their handiwork in celebration with family and community. That pride of craft and spirit of celebration comes across in your post, Nick. Cheers!
Thanks, Tim! We agree: No doubt wine and cider have been abused for millennia, but for millennia they have also brought people together, been used for sacraments, and fundamentally added to the joy of living across cultures. Handle with care, yes, but don't forget the glory of a great Pinot!
Congratulations, Nick & Co., for the remarkable ratings on your wines, no less in your first year! And please don’t allow anyone to rain on your joyful parade. That’s a tremendous family accomplishment! Now PLEASE pass me a glass!
Sorry Nick but alcoholism starts with the first sip. Granted there are folks who can control that impulse to stop at 1 glass. A child doesn’t have that impulse control. I don’t drink. Not even at holidays…I have to drive home after dinner SOBER. So how did I get so strait laced??? I watched my mother drink herself into a grave at age 14. I was the last one to see her alive and well.
In my opinion prohibition is part of the alcohol problem, yes, there are people genetically predisposed to addiction, but as Dominique Smith and Kristin Newton said, the French culture is more sensible about wine, and if wine is a part of normal life, then it is not something you crave.
Congratulations! It’s a pleasant article, sharing your farm and family, encouraging connection by having a glass of wine now and then, but I sense it’s under a veil of pretense to sell your good wine, even bringing the (ugly) prez-elect into the article —good excuse to have a glass. But honestly, why not grow food! Organic vegetables, fruits like apples or cherries. Then you’re really contributing. Think of the engagement & community of tending the land and harvesting your crops; everyone will reap the benefits! If you want to help the homeless in your state, give ‘em a shovel.
Congratulations on such a great start for the Winery. A good pinot noir is just the best. I appreciate the quest for guidance and evidence on how much is too much. As with many things, my experience is individual and will not necessarily mean what is good for me is good for others. I seem to be able to enjoy a slight buzz, but my son is in recovery from alcohol abuse, and has found he can't have anything. I am looking forward to more on this topic from your research.
Thank you and have a great new year!
Alcohol has been a part of human existence from almost the origins of our species. Biblical stories illustrate the range of this debate from abuse to miracle to celebration to sacrament. I have seen all of this like you have. I lost a dear close friend to suicide by alcohol, but I would find life dreary if I could not share a drink with friends. I am lucky in that I can moderate my consumption, but I am at a loss on how to answer the issues of addiction. My own philosophy is to encourage moderation, respect those that must abstain, and discourage abuse, but avoid being a prig.
I am one of those people who drink very rarely (ussually to celebrate New Year as others - happy New Year to everyone, by the way!), because... just after a glass, or even a half of a glass, of wine I am getting sad. Let us stop associating drinking always only with a joy, especially that there is a strong connection between heavy drinking and depression, and many claim that low mood comes first i.e. people who feel low start to drink to get into better mood based on what they hear around, but end up getting so much worse.
I love these Kristof Farms updates, and I love reading all things Kristof-plus, I'm super happy you are finding such joy and happiness in farming, family, etc. I come from a large family- both sets of my great-grandparents died in institutions from Alcohol abuse, and my brother is alone and struggling with alcoholism, I have cousins, nephews, many, many in my family and extended family have suffered untold horrors due to alcohol and its abuse. Your article mentions "one-fifth of those who drink develop alcohol use disorder." ONE FIFTH! To me, this is the bottom line of the horrible consequences alcohol perpetrates on those who drink it. I love that you're happy but I wish you had taken up some other kind of farming. Sad that this comes out the same day as the NYTimes article: "Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said." I know alcohol is a strong lifestyle choice that many families feel they can not give up. It's like anything else we consume: if we stop, over time we will find other things we like, and our bodies will quit craving it. Alcohol consumption destroys lives in so many ways. It doesn't destroy everyone's life. But 1/5 of those you know and love who consume, or will consume it? Is that worth it to keep supporting such a dangerous substance?
Silly question, but as I am here and not the commercial website, do you have sales agents in Europe, specifically UK, or is the offer solely for American continent folks?
I've lived long enough to know that most attitudes are temporal and certainly cultural, and that today's moderation is tomorrow's extreme and vice versa. A glass of wine at dinner might seem a moderate custom in France whereas 7 glasses of wine weekly now approaches "heavy drinking" for American women. Most folks can manage a little alcohol daily and maybe a wee bit more for festivities, but some can't handle any -- just like chocolate cake. A piece on one's birthday isn't a problem but eating an entire cake on a random Tuesday is. So, as with cake, the question isn't whether the product's "good" or "bad," it's whether it creates a problem for the individual, in which case that individual's responsible for curbing their misuse of it. It would be great if society offered resources to help folks having problems with anything, be it cake, bourbon or poker slots. We tried Prohibition -- it didn't work. Why not try helping individual folks with their struggles rather than banning problematic products for everybody?
I believe in moderation in all things. One problem with government and religion is that everything seems black or white, right or left, one extreme or the other. I got very frustrated, for example, with the rent moratoriums during Covid. I agreed that renters needed help, but the laws assumed that all “landlords” were big and rich. They didn’t make exceptions for seniors who rented rooms in their homes in order to pay their mortgages. My now-husband was one of those folks. No one in government would give me the time of day when I tried to point this out. My husband had a renter in his home who went full on alcoholic and stopped paying rent as soon as those moratoriums passed. She could pay. She chose not to. She also got abusive.
I know there are people who take advantage and people who can’t control their urges. But I believe that the majority could moderate if that was the societal and governance position. If there were exceptions made. If what ifs were considered.
I wrote about this issue recently on Medium.com, my preferred platform.
The extremes can’t win long term. They always tend to try to make the rest of us do things their way. And eventually the other extreme moves in. We need moderation, compromise, middle ground. Like what you advocate.
This is well written and is much appreciated in many ways. However, the research does not seem to include addiction which occurs in people who may be unaware of it. That you have so many gatherings that promote community building is a blessing to the world. May this typoe of gathering continue to build on the kinds of communication with others that it takes to have a healthy well built community, the kind that spreads elswhere due to those factors that you embody so well. I would ask just this - in your gatherings do you offer non-alcoholic beverages for those who know that even one drink of alcohol is dangerous for them. To be included without imbibing is a grace that can be overlooked when it is so simple to welcome all. By offering the variety of possibilities that include non-alcoholic drinks will surely negate any necessity to rely on research to proive that you are doing the graceful thing. Inclusiveness is a key here and not being able to taste your delicious wine is difficult enough without having to make a show of it!
Something with a strong shot of angastura bitters would seem appropriate.