99 Bottles of Wine

garyc328i · May 17, 2012, 7:33pm

mike_pobega · May 17, 2012, 7:40pm

Todd F r e n c h:

AKuehn:

garyc328i:

I would not call that binge drinking. Binge drinking was in college years with beer.
Binge drinking with wine is not whats going on here.

I just like to explore more than 2 glasses which to a lot of people is alcohlism. That is the debate that is out there.
We not drinking in a vacuum.

Prove it. Lay off for a week. Why? Because you can. If you can shut it down for a week, you are safely not an alcoholic. Repeat the exercise every six months or so to stay sure. If you find yourself “not wanting” to give it up for a week and rationalizing why you should cave in after a day or two, doubt yourself and seek professional advice. Take it seriously.

That’s why I’ve just finished a 10-day no-alcohol fast. No problems at all, although I had a couple nights where it ‘would have been nice’ to have a glass of wine with dinner, but it was a breeze.

Easier with a hottie nearby.
just sayin’

ToddFrench · May 17, 2012, 7:43pm

True! No beer-goggling needed!

Robert.A.Jr · May 17, 2012, 7:44pm

Seems quite a lot, Gary.

Curious about your body size, BMI, diet and exercise routine.

I’m 6’-1" and 198 and an exercise freak. I’ve been generally drinking 1/2 bottle per evening since my mid-20s. I’m 46. That roughly 2 glass of wine per evening is my sweet spot and seems to be part of an overall healthy regiment, judging by my blood work. Plus my Doctor is totally cool with it. Now once in a while on a week night I may venture toward a 3rd glass, and I can say I definitely feel it the next day. Not as in hungover, but as in a tad groggy or dehydrated and my performance over the course of the day suffers. More than that, as in the quantity you consume, and it impacts my performance no doubt.
PS. My avatar is a joke, of course

Matt_Latuchie · May 17, 2012, 7:54pm

garyc328i:

Warning!
Wine drinking can become a habit. if you drink one glass , and you ever have another again, bing, habit. buy more than one bottle at 1 time, is that a habit? Are you a addict? The more than 1 or 2 defintion is faulty! When you have some wine more than once at your meal … is it a habit? if you have wine more than twice a week , is it a habit.
If you have 3 are you an alcoholic. Subjective and many factors go into it.

its all to each his own.

No one can define that or set a bar as factual. Its about balance , pairing with food, having with food, enjoying the wine, enjoying the buzz as some have brought up)thank goodness it includes buzz or might as well drink Welches), and experiencing the different flavors of the wines of the world. To me wine is different than any other drink. You Get so much more depth out of it and its about the experience it brings!

lol Just saying!

in my opinion, your inclusion of the bolded text (emphasis mine) above makes your consumption seem more about the effect than the “exploration”. or more simply put, if wine wasn’t alcoholic you wouldn’t be interested.

Poppy_Davis · May 17, 2012, 7:56pm

Perhaps you should ask your family physician and see what he/she says.

garyc328i · May 17, 2012, 7:58pm

K_John_Joseph · May 17, 2012, 8:00pm

Also, I’d like to point out something that hasn’t been mentioned. The ability to drink a lot is not a beneficial trait. Most people believe that high tolerance results in decreased inebriation. On a chemical level, that’s false. A 17 year old may have 6 beers and get weak kneed and wobbly, while the effects of the same amount of alcohol may not be noticeable on a 30 year old hard drinker of the same size. The 30 year old may believe he’s fine to drive home, and his coordination may be only minimally affected.

Here’s the rub, your BAC is generally the same. Your body learns to cope with the loss of motor skills, but can’t process the alcohol any faster. That leads to a false sense of invincibility, and the potential for increased liver damage caused by frequent consumption at a higher volume.

Also, Gary, this quote is ridiculous. You indicated that you habitually drink 1+ bottles of wine a night, every other night, so let’s not bullshit about what is and isn’t habit. Also, while I understand that you think wine is unique, and so drinking much more of it than some low brow brew dog is acceptable, at some point the concern is simply about the amount of alcohol entering your body. Let’s not kid ourselves.

Warning!
Wine drinking can become a habit. if you drink one glass , and you ever have another again, bing, habit. buy more than one bottle at 1 time, is that a habit? Are you a addict? The more than 1 or 2 defintion is faulty! When you have some wine more than once at your meal … is it a habit? if you have wine more than twice a week , is it a habit.
If you have 3 are you an alcoholic. Subjective and many factors go into it.

p.s. Dang Poppy, stop making sense.

Bruce_Leiser_owitz · May 17, 2012, 8:03pm

+1. I don’t know why people on the Interwebz ask for health advice from complete strangers, esp. from strangers who are not trained medical professionals.

In terms of “bad,” you need to distinguish between two completely different sets of issues: (1) alcoholism, and (b) undesirable effects of possible over-consumption on your body (e.g., weight gain, adverse effect on liver function, etc.).

Bruce

garyc328i · May 17, 2012, 8:05pm

ToddFrench · May 17, 2012, 8:06pm

LOL Bruce. You scold him for asking for advice from strangers who are not trained medical professionals…then offer him advice!

Joe_Hauck · May 17, 2012, 8:12pm

Matt Latuchie:

garyc328i:

Warning!
Wine drinking can become a habit. if you drink one glass , and you ever have another again, bing, habit. buy more than one bottle at 1 time, is that a habit? Are you a addict? The more than 1 or 2 defintion is faulty! When you have some wine more than once at your meal … is it a habit? if you have wine more than twice a week , is it a habit.
If you have 3 are you an alcoholic. Subjective and many factors go into it.

its all to each his own.

No one can define that or set a bar as factual. Its about balance , pairing with food, having with food, enjoying the wine, enjoying the buzz as some have brought up)thank goodness it includes buzz or might as well drink Welches), and experiencing the different flavors of the wines of the world. To me wine is different than any other drink. You Get so much more depth out of it and its about the experience it brings!

lol Just saying!

in my opinion, your inclusion of the bolded text above makes your consumption seem more about the effect than the “exploration”. or more simply put, if wine wasn’t alcoholic you wouldn’t be interested.

I noticed the same thing Matt, I don’t know how many times I’ve said almost the opposite.

garyc328i · May 17, 2012, 8:13pm

Matt_Latuchie · May 17, 2012, 8:18pm

garyc328i:

Matt Latuchie:

garyc328i:

Warning!
Wine drinking can become a habit. if you drink one glass , and you ever have another again, bing, habit. buy more than one bottle at 1 time, is that a habit? Are you a addict? The more than 1 or 2 defintion is faulty! When you have some wine more than once at your meal … is it a habit? if you have wine more than twice a week , is it a habit.
If you have 3 are you an alcoholic. Subjective and many factors go into it.

its all to each his own.

No one can define that or set a bar as factual. Its about balance , pairing with food, having with food, enjoying the wine, enjoying the buzz as some have brought up)thank goodness it includes buzz or might as well drink Welches), and experiencing the different flavors of the wines of the world. To me wine is different than any other drink. You Get so much more depth out of it and its about the experience it brings!

lol Just saying!

in my opinion, your inclusion of the bolded text above makes your consumption seem more about the effect than the “exploration”. or more simply put, if wine wasn’t alcoholic you wouldn’t be interested.

I did not bold that, you did, re-read original post. And Actually others brought up buzz, not me. But I enjoy the drink for all the things that wine is.
And yes, if it did not have alcohol, I would probably not be interested and I venture to say most others as well! Confession of the century!

in case others shared your confusion, i updated my post above to note that i bolded the text.

AKuehn · May 17, 2012, 8:25pm

If I had to fashion a fictional character who is secretly an alcoholic posting to a wine board about their drinking problem, I would have crafted a set of posts very similar to what Gary has actually posted in this thread. I can’t figure out if that makes Rick right and this is a troll I’ve fallen for, or if it makes Rick wrong and I should be concerned about Gary. Only Gary knows for sure.

In case it is the latter, Gary, stop drinking any alcohol right now. Today. Don’t touch the stuff until a week from tomorrow. If you have reasons for not stopping at this moment, no matter what those reasons are, go show this entire thread to your doctor.

Not meaning to be melodramatic about it, but why take a chance? If you can stop for week, you know you’re off the hook. If you can’t, or won’t…well…then you don’t.

CFu · May 17, 2012, 8:30pm

garyc328i:

Matt Latuchie:

garyc328i:

Warning!
Wine drinking can become a habit. if you drink one glass , and you ever have another again, bing, habit. buy more than one bottle at 1 time, is that a habit? Are you a addict? The more than 1 or 2 defintion is faulty! When you have some wine more than once at your meal … is it a habit? if you have wine more than twice a week , is it a habit.
If you have 3 are you an alcoholic. Subjective and many factors go into it.

its all to each his own.

No one can define that or set a bar as factual. Its about balance , pairing with food, having with food, enjoying the wine, enjoying the buzz as some have brought up)thank goodness it includes buzz or might as well drink Welches), and experiencing the different flavors of the wines of the world. To me wine is different than any other drink. You Get so much more depth out of it and its about the experience it brings!

lol Just saying!

in my opinion, your inclusion of the bolded text above makes your consumption seem more about the effect than the “exploration”. or more simply put, if wine wasn’t alcoholic you wouldn’t be interested.

I did not bold that, you did, re-read original post. And Actually others brought up buzz, not me. But I enjoy the drink for all the things that wine is.
And yes, if it did not have alcohol, I would probably not be interested and I venture to say most others as well! Confession of the century!

No need to defend yourself. You like to drink wine, you enjoy a bottle a day. Some people find that excessive, you don’t. To each there own. I wouldn’t do it cause that’s an extra 600-800 calories a day in consumption of sugars. Just think about it that way, your liver can only process out so much alcohol in a day. If you just keep building on it (whether it be beer or wine) you’ll have issues in the long run.

Dav1dZ · May 17, 2012, 8:36pm

FWIW, I’m no expert in the matter, but I’m pretty sure this is a myth. I have friends who would quit drinking for a week or two around finals or (as we got older) big professional obligations, but as soon as the deadline passed were right back in the bottle. Obviously, being able to stop for a week is better than not being able to stop, but I can’t imagine its a fail-safe determination of whether someone has a drinking problem.

AKuehn · May 17, 2012, 8:50pm

100% Fail-safe? No, it’s probably not that. It’s a major indicator, though, and being unable to quit should be regarded as a pretty clear sign that something is wrong.

Alan_Gottlieb · May 17, 2012, 8:58pm

Over 5 hours this is one glass of wine an hour… Just saying not binge drinking What do you thing ones alchohol level would be at the 5 hr mark

Rick_Gregory · May 17, 2012, 9:04pm

Let me correct something in case I’ve left the wrong impression… I don’t think Gary’s a troll in the sense that he’s lying about the consumption, etc. But what put me off was that, upon getting several people to respond that, yes, a bottle a night every other night is probably a lot and probably ‘bad’, he proceeded to reply with defensive snark that made it sound like it was silly to bother worrying and that drinking that much was, somehow, studly (the ‘enjoy your one bite of the appetizer’ comment etc). Hence my “why ask?” question

From the OP I assumed (and I think most of us did) that this was a a regular thing… that he drank this way most of the time. Obviously, it’s different if that’s not true (cf his above comments about not drinking for months). Everyone drinks more heavily sometimes - tastings, parties, etc. Doing that once in a while and drinking more moderately most of the time is very very different that drinking a bottle a night every other night week in and week out.