One afternoon in 1975 I strolled into a record store across Hearst Ave. from the UC Berkeley campus, and inside hanging out were Patti Smith and her band promoting their first LP, Horses. I put my money on the counter and never regretted it. Here is a 1975 that aged well, and includes one of my favorite rock ’n’ roll cuts, “Free Money.” She signed my album cover and wrote, “We waltz in a new dimension.” Over the years my mind turned it into “We dance in a different dimension.” Perhaps the cool alliteration appealed to me. Then, recently, the thought burst untethered into my wine-flavored mind, “We drink in a different dimension.”
     And we do. We drink fine wines, one of Mother Earth’s tastiest creations. We know that wine CAN be an esthetic creation that speaks to our senses—our eyes, nose, palate, and beyond—and we judge our wines in fine detail, like a work of art. So let’s separate wine out from the governmental classification, alcoholic beverage. Fine wine is such a complex liquid, to single out its alcohol, an entirely natural product of fermentation, is at the least missing the point.
     And consider, real people out there vinify our selections, our bottles of wine, not corporate entities with formulas and additives.
     There is no denying it. Neo-prohibitionism has raised its ugly head. Imagine, enjoying wine with your meals could be illegal, which should cause Christians pause. Christ’s first miracle, remember? He was feasting with his mom and some disciples at what sounds like a neighborhood bash when, uh oh, they ran out of wine. Mary did not dig that at all, so she handed over the dilemma to her son, who quickly turned several jars of water (thirty gallons each, folks) into wine. Christ was no killjoy. If a Christian today believes wine is unhealthy because of its alcohol, Jesus would be guilty of endangering not only his mother and disciples, but everyone else there, too. From here, calling wine dangerous sounds blasphemous, because wouldn’t Jesus have known if wine was truly dangerous? All-knowing, right? And by the way, his miracle cuvée was judged (by those present) superior to the first selection served. In other words, He had good taste!
     In the Old Testament, wine is mentioned more than olives, wheat, or megabytes. It was even appreciated for its inebriating qualities. Drunkenness was a transgression, while inebriation meant feeling exhilarated or quite happy. Positives, right? We drink for the pleasures of it, and we urge drinking responsibly.