WAR ON WINE?

A New Organization Springs Up to Counter the Anti-Alcohol Bias

When I come home from a stressful workday, nothing sounds better than
relaxing on the couch with a glass of refreshing wine. And I want it as
much for the pleasure of its taste as for its effect in helping me
de-stress. But my peace of mind would be shattered if my 5-year-old son
said to me, "Do you know you're drinking poison?"

That's what happened to Michaela Rodeno of St. Superty Vineyard & Winery in
Napa in 1990, when her son was in kindergarten. He had just seen the DARE,
or Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, and Rodeno says wanted to see
her reaction. "Why do you ask that?" Rodeno asked in surprise. "Alcohol is
poison isn't it?" her son repeated, even though she believes he knew the
message he had learned was wrong. Still, she had to explain to him that she
would have to drink a lot of wine before it would be toxic. "It was pretty
consciousness-raising." Rodeno admits.

That wasn't long ago, yet even today "just say no" has become the rally-cry
of the neo-prohibitionists who categorize any form of alcohol with drugs,
and zero tolerance is their solution. Rodeno knew there was only one answer
- - to educate the public about wine.

Rodeno and Julie Williams, co-owner of Frog's Leap Winery in Napa Valley,
founded Women for WineSense is committed to ensuring that American women
and men have unbiased information about the social and health effects of
moderate wine consumption, in order the duty and right of individuals to be
responsible for their lifestyle decisions."

As a woman's organization they offer a unique perspective, especially since
women and children are always the targets of the anti-alcohol campaigns.
However, Women for WineSense chapters include both women and men.

Membership has grown to 900 this year, with chapters forming across the
country, and it's just starting in San Luis Obispo. It may seem surprising,
but this group is needed now as much as it has ever been.

Newspapers regularly publish stories about public schools that kick
children out of class for bringing aspirin to school. After all, it's a
drug - and any student carrying drugs must be punished as an example for
everyone else. It's incomprehensible to me that wine, like aspirin, is
lumped into the catch-all category "drugs"; legal or illegal, it doesn't
seem to matter.

Historically wine has always been known as a drink of moderation, yet, wine
drinkers are inexplicably linked with the lowlifes whose reason for
existence is to get drunk on any rotgut that provides the quickest high. So
what can you do? Join the fight against those who call you a sinner because
you drink, and yes, even enjoy drinking wine.

That's partly why I'm joining Women for WineSense. This isn't another wine
event or an excuse to drink wine. Frankly, I don't need any excuses. For
me, wine is as much a part of my daily lifestyle as dinner. But what I
admire about this group is that they're doing things that make a difference
nationally through their educational forums.

What really sold me was an unexpected offer from their advisory board. Dr.
Bob Noyes of Cal Poly, a professor of food science and nutrition, addressed
the WineSense advisors and local women interested in starting a chapter
here. Kit Wall, from the organization's national advisory board, did more
than listen. She made a commitment to Noyes, a donation form Women for
WineSense to Cal Poly's wine marketing program. Noyes was as surprised as I
was.

"What's better than helping Cal Poly?" Wall enthused. "What an honor and an
opportunity." This chapter is still in the planning stage, yet Women for
WineSense is already contributing to San Luis Obispo County. That generous
act earned my full endorsement - they deserve it.

Interested? Then attend the second meeting of Women for WineSense to start
a San Luis Obispo chapter Friday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m. at Edna Valley
Vineyard. It's scheduled to end just in time for the winery's last "Wine
Down" of the year from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

I strongly urge you to come, listen to what they have to say, and afterward
enjoy a good glass of wine. Learn for yourself whether this chapter offers
something you want to be a part of. I did.

For additonal information, call the San Luis Obispo Chapter contact, Vicki
Carroll, at 547-1753 or online at www.winesense.com.

And in a related issue, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., had amended an
appropriations bill banning health statements on wine labels, which the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms indicated it would approve. The
senator was discouraged from filing that amendment, thanks to lobbying the
Wine Institute and the American Vintners Association.

The proposed wine label addition doesn't make health claims. It merely
provides consumers with government information phone numbers so they can
educate themselves on the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption.

It's been a difficult fight for the wine industry, and it isn't close to
succeeding yet. But we can help by supporting nonprofit groups like Women
and WineSense, who advocate wine as part of a healthy lifestyle. (Source:
Global Wine News online at www.globalwinenews.com)

-- Kathy Marcks Hardesty believes it makes good wine sense to become
educated about health and the things we eat and drink.

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson