Alcoholism and Wine Culture: Let’s Stop the Confusion

@Calice Hospitality and Wines

A growingly radical discourse on alcohol is taking hold in the French public debate. While driven by legitimate intentions — preventing health risks, breaking taboos — it too often slips into a troubling confusion: one that equates all consumption, even moderate, with deviance. In this climate, wine is no longer spared from stigmatization. Products, practices, and patterns of consumption are systematically placed on the same level, with no real nuance or context.

The program C ce soir, aired last night on France 5 and hosted by Karim Rissouli, perfectly illustrates this trend. The debate, focused on women’s relationship with alcohol, tackled an essential topic. But it quickly turned into a one-sided indictment, where all the guests echoed the same narrative: alcohol — including wine — is portrayed as a normalized psychotropic substance, even promoted by a powerful industry.

Wine is depicted as an escape for oppressed women, an insidious form of propaganda, a social poison. No opposing viewpoint, no structured reminder of the historical, cultural, or economic role of wine in France. No distinction is made between festive, cultural, gastronomic practices and risky behaviors. By constantly blurring these lines, a climate of generalized mistrust is fostered. And what could have been a valuable reflection turns into a one-sided trial.

Yet France is the second largest wine producer in the world — a country where several of its vineyard landscapes are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites, and where millions of visitors come each year to explore our terroirs, grape varieties, and traditions. In this context, wine tourism is far from a marginal activity: it is a true driver of regional development, a source of sustainable employment, and a living bridge between agriculture, heritage, culture and hospitality.

To condemn wine indiscriminately is to disregard an entire sector committed to quality, transmission, and moderation. And to ignore a reality: the vast majority of consumers in France — particularly those who travel the wine routes — do not drink to escape or to get drunk, but to discover, understand, and taste.

Another misconception heard during the program: the Évin law is said to have become too lenient. This is simply not true. France remains one of the strictest countries in the world when it comes to communication about alcoholic beverages. Wine professionals know this well: speaking about terroir, sensory experience, or even gustatory pleasureis subject to highly restrictive regulation. The sector engages in constant self-censorship. Far from relaxing the rules, it still faces constraints that are, at times, absurdly disproportionate.

That France 5 — a public service broadcaster — would relay such a one-sided narrative is cause for concern. If we are, rightly, alarmed by the harms of alcoholism, we should also expect a national media outlet to give equal attention to the work of winemakers, the efforts of local regions, and the many initiatives committed to responsible consumption.

To inform is not to simplify — it is to illuminate complexity.

We are fully open to working together on this important conversation.

On a daily basis, we support estates and destinations that aim to build a form of wine tourism that is demanding, sustainable, and meaningful. We believe in the power of experience, in educating the palate, and in respecting the living world. Wine is not a tool for escape — it is a vehicle for transmission, social connection, and the promotion of know-how.

Fighting addiction is a necessity. But doing so while denying the differences between uses, products, and intentions risks dismantling an entire culture — and alienating those who could be the strongest allies in promoting a pedagogy of moderation.

We won’t curb alcoholism by demonizing wine. We will do so by educating, passing down knowledge, and promoting moderation as a shared cultural value.

By opposing public health and wine culture without nuance, we weaken both causes. Because to be effective, the fight against addiction must be rooted in an understanding of usage, not in its blind stigmatization.

What if, instead of pointing fingers, we worked toward a more balanced public discourse?What if wine tourism became a true space for reconciliation — where we speak of pleasure, restraint, and responsibility?

This is the path we stand for.

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