From time to time, we will post short interviews with interesting people about their thoughts and feelings on women and drinking. There is such a wide array of perspectives about this topic, and we are excited to gain insight into as many as possible and to share them with you.
Alice Feiring, a lapsed Dance/Movement therapist and James Beard Award winning wine writer has penned her blog, AliceFeiring.com, since 2004, which has been named by Food & Wine and Forbes as one of the top wine blogs and received a Beard nominations as well.
Her book, The Battle for Wine & Love or How I Saved the World From Parkerization, was published by Houghton Harcourt in 2008, and another book is in the works for Fall 2011 publication. Feiring is a wine writer for the Wall Street Journal magazine and has written essays for the New York Times.
Drinking Diaries: How old were you when you had your first drink and what was it?
Alice Feiring: I was probably 3 and it was Manischewitz mixed with seltzer.
How did/does your family treat drinking?
Drinking was a non-issue. I was raised as an orthodox Jew. I started to drink every weekend–Friday night and Saturday lunch– from the moment I could sit on a lap at the table. My grandfather loved to share whisky with me, just a wee bit, and I’d sip from my father’s beer or highball in the single digits. No one was fearful of alcoholism. Drinks and wine were sampled not guzzled. It was merely part of the culture and in its place.
Can you tell us about the best time you ever had drinking?
A Romanée Conti dinner in New York City, 2006. It was wild. I’ll probably never see as much from that revered domaine in my life. My only regret was that I had to stay professional about it. If there was ever a worthy hangover to earn, that was the one. Unfortunately, I woke up clear headed.
What about the worst time?
I’ve never drunk to the point of getting sick, so my war stories are different. Mostly they consist of being at wine dinners were I find the wine undrinkable and am yearning for a good glass. But there was another kind of frustration a month ago. In France, I brought a special bottle to share at a winemaker’s house. It was my mistake. I presented it as if a gift. The bottle sat on the counter, taunting me. The winemaker’s wines were quite good but still, I was dying to taste that 1998 Overnoy Ploussard! I’ll never make that mistake again.
Has drinking ever affected—either negatively or positively—a relationship of yours?
My first real boyfriend had an alcoholic father and was afraid to drink. I was just discovering wine, learning about it and it was painful not to be able to share my adventure with him. It was particularly painful when we were in France. I didn’t want to push it because his reactive formation is a force to deal with. However, it was symptomatic about a lot that didn’t work between us.
Do you have a favorite book, song, or movie about drinking?
Can I have two? It’s not exactly about wine but I love the drinking in Plato’s The Symposium and then there’s In the vine country by E.A. Somerville 8 Martin Ross, written in 1893. It’s a fun ride about discovering Bordeaux. In fact, I’m going to reread it this week.
What do you like most about drinking?
Well, it depends what I am drinking. Sometimes for thirst. Sometimes for fun. Sometimes for the effect. But my drink of choice is wine and for me it is sharing sensuality and exploration of where agriculture meets science meets art meets man and culture.
How has alcoholism affected your life?
Believe it or not, when I was a dance/movement therapist, I used to work with substance abusers, and of course a significant number were alcoholics. But I remember one group feeling terribly guilty that I could drink and they could not. It seemed so unfair.
