And the Big, Bad, "P" Word is...

“P” is for PROHIBITION
Just saying the word makes me cringe. If you think it is truly behind us, I’d like you think again. Our society today is defined by media. Whether you are sitting in your living room, driving your car, listening to the radio, or reading a magazine at the doctor’s office, there is nearly nowhere you can go today without being subjected to advertisement for wine, beer, or spirits. Marketing people spend their whole careers seeking new ways to get their product in front of you. As a man whose livelihood revolves around fine wine and spirits, that’s a good thing for me. However, there is so much sensory contact with alcohol through advertising that most people forget how recently it was that alcohol was illegal in our land of the free.

Prohibition was repealed on December 5th, 1933 - just over 75 years ago. It’s really a short period of time in US culture when you think about it. In fact many of us still have family members who lived through Prohibition – who are still very much a layer of our cultural fabric. Though they may feel differently about it now, they were all at some point supposed to believe that alcoholic consumption was morally wrong; associated with aggression, antisocial behavior, and inevitable criminal activity. Supporters of prohibition taught (some might say brainwashed) their children alcohol would turn them evil. They even went so far as to blame the Great Depression and World War I on alcohol. So while we may SEEM a long ways away from that period, in fact there are at least several generations in our society that, whether they realize it or not, harbor some negative impressions of wine or any other alcohol as a result of some lasting effects of Prohibition mentality.

So where are we now? Surely we’ve come a long way from branding wine drinkers as criminal heathens, right. We may no longer be outcasts in our society, but are we Americans still reluctant? It is remarkably common to see diners concerned about ordering a second or even a single glass of wine with a meal because of a genuine fear of intoxication. Many people see the enjoyment of alcohol with a meal as irresponsible, unnecessary, sometime even reckless. Think I’m exaggerating? Consider some statistics.

• The percentage of adults who drink alcohol in European countries varies between 80% and 90%.
• In the United States, approximately 65% of adults drink alcohol.
• American per capita consumption of alcohol by volume before Prohibition was nearly double what it is today.

Many Europeans would argue a little wine with every meal makes them healthier and happier. In France and Italy, wine is often as important to setting the table as the silverware. Being a Sommelier, I’ll insist until I’m out of breath that every meal is better with the right wine and occasionally a good beer (I even cook with a little bit of wine in my eggs every morning). As I mentioned in my first blog, this is part of what drives me to write about wine. In addition to teaching a thing or two to people who already have an interest in wine, I have sincere hopes that blogging can help save at least a few of the third of Americans that will otherwise sadly go through life missing out on one of man’s greatest creations. Europeans were exploring the art of fine dining before our country was even born, so it’s at least slightly understandable why more of them get it. But we are Americans! It’s not in our nature to be so behind for so long. So wake up people! Pull the cork on a bottle of wine with your next meal. And if someone around you doesn’t like it, hand them the cork and tell them what they can do with it.

Eric Arsenault is the Sommelier for The Chop House and the Director of Wine and Spirits for Mainstreet Ventures.