Wine’s downsides

You likely enjoyed positives of wine we visited last week, but if we are honest, the story is not universally rosy (or even rosé). This week, a glimpse at wine drinking downsides.

Even positive statements about wine’s benefits include the disclaimer “in moderation.” You can add that disclaimers to everything in life except love. Doctors always intone the moderation warning as they fondle power-symbol stethoscopes garlanded around their necks.

For starters, wine has calories. A bottle of white table wine contains about 610 calories, a bottle of red table wine about 625. A bottle may not be the equivalent of a Big Mac with fries, but it is not Weight Watchers recommended either. Alcohol consumption also tricks your mind into thinking you are hungry. Wine contributes some calories, the two extra slices of pizza do the big damage.

Although most people do not drink wine to get drunk, when you drink enough wine you will get drunk, with all the horrors that entails: DWI, blacking out about last night’s great evening, and embarrassing behavior—I never thought of you as a karaoke person until you drank that second bottle of wine. On yet a more serious note, alcohol excess can lead to cancer and other major health issues. Moderation.

Additional bummer aspects of wine abuse include increased risk of depression, diabetes, and alcoholism. And then there is that credit card train wreck you created when you brilliantly decided to buy a case of vintage Opus One still in the original wooden box.

While on balance wine may tilt slightly toward positives, there clearly are downsides, at the “end of the day” we “circle back” (excuse the clichés) to moderation.

Tasting notes:

• Domaine Papagiannakos Savatiano, Markopoulo 2015: Food friendly; made with Greece’s savatiano grape; excellent with seafood. $11-14 Link to my review

• Masottina Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Brut NV: Example of how prosecco competes with Champagne for quality sparkling at fraction of the price. $12-19 Link to my review

• Bridlewood Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 2014: Tasty, fruit-forward, nicely nuanced. $13-18 Link to my review

• LangeTwins Centennial Zinfandel, Lodi 2011: Built for lovers of monster zins; vivid fruit, depth, balance. $55-60 Link to my review

Last round: If you do sober what you said you’d do drunk, you will soon learn moderation.