Feelings on wine with dinner and your minor children?

It seems we're all in violent agreement

I had to laugh at the term 'Minor children' though. Over here we tend not to use the term 'Minors', so it read like there was some sort of grading ... "he's just one of my minor children, not up to the quality of the others"

I think the ability to appreciate fine wine is inborn.

An interesting thought. I think that wine lovers tend to be either very analytical or very romantic (or a disturbing mélange of both). For the most part, uneducated or indiscriminate people don't understand the allure of wine. BUT, they do seem to understand wine marketing. I can think of no other reason for the continued existence of Gallo.

Indeed, this is a very intriguing train of thought. From my experience, people who appreciate wine also appreciate food, music, literature and other forms of art. They all have the senses in common. Could it be that wine lovers have personalties that are more sensual (or, dare I say, hedonistic)?

Back to the main thread, my wife and I don't have kids yet, but we plan to include wine as part of meals when they are old enough. I really like Cynthia's comment about her parents watering down the wine when she and her siblings were younger.

Ian - that's great. I don't think I will ever say "minor children" again. Thank you!

My three children (20, 17 and 13) know they should not drink at their age. I will not embarrass them by asking f they’d like a glass of wine or beer. However, if they want to take a sip of beer or wine to see what it tastes like, they are welcome. In this way, Liz and I hope that is in not a mystery or something that they can go out and binge on when they do turn 21.
My kids do appreciate wine; they know what's good and not so good and what to drink with what and they know that it makes food taste better and, indeed, is a part of the meal. I can't wait to share fully in the enjoyment of a good wine with them or even a beer after mowing the lawn on a hot day.

From my experience, people who appreciate wine also appreciate food, music, literature and other forms of art. They all have the senses in common. Could it be that wine lovers have personalties that are more sensual (or, dare I say, hedonistic)?

Mike, my own observations would corroborate yours. In my experience, often times it's the non-verbal sorts of folks who are least likely to be interested in wine, and it's hardest to get them interested in thinking about their food. These are the "down the hatch it goes" folks who approach eating not as an inherently pleasurable thing but as something that you have to do to keep on moving; there's little romance in their approach and they also tend to be esthetically unmotivated (i.e. they are seldom affected by aesthetically unpleasant surroundings). That said, some of them also have the most sober (pun intended) perceptions of reality I've ever come across, so the world certainly needs all kinds

Oh yeah, that was an ....intense thread.

We have always (since we joined families, when he was 12) offered David a taste if he asked. As he got to be 15 or so, a small glass. When he started driving at 16, the rule was he couldn't have any if he intended to drive that night (NY law is zero tolerance for alcohol in drivers under 21, his license is very important to him!).

Has this increased or decreased the chances of him having a drinking problem? I don't know. He's 18, and certainly goes to parties where kids drink. He knows that driving after even 1 drink alcohol could lead to loss of his license, and he doesn't (he also knows our policy that if you get stuck, you call, no reprecussions for honesty). But I'm pretty sure that some of the nights when he's staying at a friend's, he probably drinks more than I would think is wise. But that is true of kids I know whose parents are teetotalers, social drinkers, and flat out drunks.

What I hope is in a long term basis, we've taught him by example:
1) that wine is a part of dinner
2) getting drunk is not the purpose of alcohol
3) one never drives while drunk (and the standard isn't "do I feel drunk?" or "I don't think I had that much", but rather "I know exactly what I had, and I'm well under limit").

Dale (and others),
As you know we are facing these very issues as we raise our now-two-year old son. He's already shown an intense interest in the wine that we drink and I'm tempted, like my parents before me, to make small amounts available to him as a way of demystifying it. As there are some real issues of addictive behavior on both sides of his family, it's hard to say what, if anything, can be done to stem that behavior off from his future. Nonetheless, my instinct is that the devil that you know is less of a threat. Only time will tell, though...

Mark Lipton

No children here. As I've said before on similar topic, my sister and I were allowed some watered down wine on special holidays from the age of 12 or so. My parents preferred bourbon and other cocktails but had wine (probably plonk rose wine) on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day. I also was confirmed as a church member at age ten and was given a sip of wine as part of Communion on a regular basis from then on. My mother also went through periods as a cigaret smoker (Dad liked pipes and the occasional cigar which he had to smoke outdoors) and never said cigarets were forbidden. I have smoked maybe twenty cigarets in my life, including one I bummed off Mom when I was a teenager or young adult, but never took it up as a habit. I think the very fact that it was not a forbidden practice or secret sin made it less alluring. Like my parents, I was into cocktails, and my interest in wine only developed after I took a job in Germany at age 23+.

A previous thread on this subject, which has been mentioned a couple of times, is still online on Classic WLDG here. Still some very good points there, as well.

A previous thread on this subject, which has been mentioned a couple of times, is still online on Classic WLDG

Thanks for the link, Bob.

Actually, the one we were talking about was a few years before that and went on for something like 100 heated responses...

Before my time, Joe!

Ian, my kids are still my children after they become of age.

I actually learned that distinction in law school as one based on English law. It still has great value in trust and estate law and elsewhere -- medical questions, for example.

Regards, Bob

on Classic WLDG here. Still some very good points there, as well.

How about that for a reminder of the old format, I had forgotten what it was like. Good stuff.

on Classic WLDG here. Still some very good points there, as well.

How about that for a reminder of the old format, I had forgotten what it was like. Good stuff.

Hi Rashaan, I haven't forgotten what it was like, it is still better than anything we have seen since. Heck, maybe I am just sentimental?

A previous thread on this subject, which has been mentioned a couple of times, is still online on Classic WLDG

Thanks for the link, Bob.

Actually, the one we were talking about was a few years before that and went on for something like 100 heated responses...

Oh, let's just say it. The one I was thinking of was the one where a poster claimed to be turning in folks to Child Protective Services based on their posts. Now that got heated.

That's the one!

How about that for a reminder of the old format, I had forgotten what it was like. Good stuff.

Hi Rashaan, I haven't forgotten what it was like, it is still better than anything we have seen since. Heck, maybe I am just sentimental?

No, just blessed/cursed with an accurate memory...
cheers,
Graeme

Well, the old format couldn't go on forever (love it, though I did). I understand that. This is certainly better then what we tried at first, and this place seems to be standard format for most modern boards.

It's nice to remember old threads on the old board that involved DSS and physical threats, but this is where we are now.

Now, back to the topic - wine with minor children? Well, when I was 22 and Amy was 18, I used to give her a few sips of wine with dinner. It was important that I teach her 'sponsibility.

Now, back to the topic - wine with minor children? Well, when I was 22 and Amy was 18, I used to give her a few sips of wine with dinner. It was important that I teach her 'sponsibility.

So when you're 99, she'll be 95? Talk about robbin' the cradle -not to mention a bad influence.

Yeah, but that's just chronologically speaking. Emotionally she's decades older than me at the moment.

But on the subject, her first red wine was a 1961 Rinaldi Barolo; I taught her well.

Yeah, but that's just chronologically speaking. Emotionally she's decades older than me at the moment.

But on the subject, her first red wine was a 1961 Rinaldi Barolo; I taught her well.

Which brings up another good point. If you are drinking decades-old Barolo or Burgundy, you owe it to your children, regardless of their age, to offer up a couple of tablespoons. They may not taste it again.

Interestingly, as somewhat of an aside, in Austria the legal drinking age for beer and wine is 16 years; for spirits it's 18 (link here). I didn't know that they actually distinguished between types of alcoholic drinks.

It would be interesting to see, for example, if there is a correspondingly greater problem with under-age alcohol abuse there, as opposed to North America. Something tells me that the opposite is likely true.

My children were always offered a small taste of any wine that was being consumed at the table. As a practical matter. I found that they didn't like the wines that I drank. I generally like wines with some tannins and acidity. The children like sweet. For example, my youngest daughter (now 14) wanted and was given a taste of a Sauvignon Blanc that I was drinking last weekend. She hated it. Much too acid and bitter she said. I got the same reaction to a taste of Champagne at New Year's. But I kind of think that if I gave her a taste of sweeter wine she'd like it. Perhaps luckily I don't drink much if any sweet wine.

Generally, I think it is far, far better to give kids a taste in controlled circumstances rather than create a forbidden fruit.

Glenn

Interestingly, as somewhat of an aside, in Austria the legal drinking age for beer and wine is 16 years; for spirits it's 18 (link here). I didn't know that they actually distinguished between types of alcoholic drinks.

It would be interesting to see, for example, if there is a correspondingly greater problem with under-age alcohol abuse there, as opposed to North America. Something tells me that the opposite is likely true.

Though my wife is from a smallish town in Germany (NOT Austria and not a big city where things may be different), she can't even recall age being a consideration when ordering a beer. Although beer and wine was readily available, she, to this day, rarely has more than a glass at dinner. Surely there are plenty of heavy drinkers in Germany (I've seen it first-hand at many family gatherings), but inebriation seems to be rare and 'Lose your job and ruin your life' alcoholism seems to be non-existent. I’ve seen plenty of fistfights, puke, and public urination in Europe to completely write-off bad drinking manners and drinking problems as exclusively North American.

'Lose your job and ruin your life' alcoholism seems to be non-existent..

That's because it's Germany. 'Lose your job' does not necessarily follow to 'ruin your life', although it may reduce the level of wine you can afford from Grand Cru to Premier Cru.

I’ve seen plenty of fistfights, puke, and public urination in Europe to completely write-off bad drinking manners and drinking problems as exclusively North American.

I've seen more of this in the North of Europe than the South - or then I've just been lucky in my trips Southwards. It seems that up here we have a rather different drinking culture to the south. I am sure that everywhere in Europe people do get drunk and often, but what I noticed in the south is that people stop drinking once they are tipsy, but here in the north it's not uncommon to see people continuing to drink after they even start puking!