First came The Wine Sisterhood, Girl’s Night Out, Working Girl Wines, and Little Black Dress: sassy wines with snazzy labels targeting the growing women’s wine market. Then came Mad Housewife, Mommy’s Time Out, and Mommy Juice: wines marketed towards not just women but {gasp} Mothers.
The big brouhaha is over Mom wines has me in a sober stupor. I was overjoyed the first time I ever spotted a bottle of Mad Housewife as I pushed my shopping cart full of toilet paper and a testy toddler through my local grocery store. It might as well have been illuminated by a ray from heaven. How did they know I was a mad housewife? They must have made it just for me. I immediately popped a bottle of chardonnay in between the applesauce and fruit snacks even though it blew my grocery budget. I didn’t care. I deserved a treat too.
Now, don’t worry. I didn’t rush home, leave the groceries in the trunk and plop Kiddo in a playpen in front of Baby Einstein while I cracked open the bottle and downed it in one goldfish bowl-sized glass. Relax. I am a responsible parent. I am an adult. And I am not an alcoholic. But I did enjoy a glass later while I cooked dinner.
And yes, my child was still awake.
And yes, he sees my husband and I enjoy a glass of wine on a regular basis.
And I think that is just fine.
I do not understand the whole viewpoint stating children should never see a mother enjoy a glass of wine. Beer is marked directly to dads. It is perfectly acceptable for fathers to sit and watch the game or hang by the bbq grill with a frosty beer in hand.
This Father’s Day cake from our local grocery store is a perfect example of the double standard.
Dad + beer = good
I do agree that kids should not see their parents acting like drunken fools. I’m not talking about downing a bottle while watching Sponge Bob with the neighborhood kids. Wine should not be the beverage of choice for an afternoon playdate. But there is nothing wrong with savoring a glass of wine with dinner, even in front of the children.
So many average Americans just don’t understand the culture of wine. It’s in no way a beverage to chug just to get drunk. It is a delicacy to savor, to swirl in a glass to release the aroma, to sip while enjoying each variety’s layered and distinctive flavor. Wine has a unique relationship with food; when properly paired with a dish (be it calamari or cheesecake) it enhances the complex flavors of both the food and the wine.
It’s no wonder Europeans think Americans are so uptight. Wine is not taboo across the pond; instead it is a common beverage to drink with meals. Many children are given watered down wine from a young age in order to develop their palate and an appreciation for the taste. Growing up in Germany, my mother’s primary school took field trips (including tastings) to the local wineries. Wine and the art/science of winemaking is a vital part or their culture, industry, and life. {Calm down, I’m not advocating doing that here, just loosen up a bit, please.}
We have all heard about how numerous studies have shown moderate consumption of red wine is good for your heart but it also has some other benefits.
Red wine can rev up a woman’s sex life: An Italian Research study found that women who were moderate red wine drinkers had a higher libido than those who drank other alcoholic beverages or who abstained. (Women who drank more than two glasses were no included in the study so drunkenness would not influence results.)
Wine is good for your waistline: Reuters reported trim middle-aged women who drink moderately (red wine especially) are more likely to maintain their weight as they age opposed to non-drinkers.
And in our home wine is also beneficial to our sanity. Many nights when Hubby finishes working at his stressful job he joins me in the kitchen while I cook dinner. We listen to music and sip on a glass of wine as we discuss our hectic days. It is a ritual: we bid adieu to our accumulated stress and relax as we enjoy each others company. Hubby’s doctor actually told him that a daily glass of wine keeps his blood pressure down and keeps him off Prozac.
Before children we relished going to wine tastings and preparing gourmet wine paring dinners with friends. At one time we had a moderate collection of decent wines, but my choice to stay at home with Kiddo limited our wine budget significantly. We still crack open a good bottle to celebrate birthdays, holidays, good news and to share with great friends. But if we ever win the lottery we will have a fully stocked and rocking wine cellar. No more cheap wine for us.
We have always been label whores. Wine purchases are often made not by the WA Points but by unique and funny names and labels. And as a woman and a Mom I am drawn to the labels that reflect my lifestyle: Mommy Wines. They are unpretentious, engaging, and a bit tongue-in-cheek, just like me.
Yes, I understand that some people out there are alcoholics or just do not know when to say when. But the rest of us should not be judged by their behavior. I am an adult. I am a responsible parent. And I enjoy wine.
Yes, I deserve a bottle of Mommy wine. Not because my life is so damn hard I need to get drunk, but because I deserve to be recognized as a responsible and respectable wine consumer.
Keep bringing those beautiful bottles on.