Advertisement
transcription
This transcription was created voice popular software. Although it has been tested through human transcriptors, it can involve errors. See the episode audio before mentioning this transcription and sending an email to transcripts@nytimes. com for all questions.
It is “Opinions”, a screen that brings you a voice of the opinion of the New York Times. You have heard the news. This is what you should do with that.
[Playing music]
A caution for drinkers from the United States doctor.
There is a causal link between alcohol and seven of cancer.
Alcohol intake contributes to around 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 deaths year.
A reminder he wants added to warning labels already on booze, beer, and wine.
So I heard this news last week, and I thought to myself, here is another very unnuanced binary solution to what feels like a very nuanced problem. My name is Boris Fishman, and I am primarily a novelist. But over the last couple of years, I have also found myself writing more and more about wine.
Therefore, last week, the general surgeon published an advice that cancer warnings are implemented for all alcohol sales in this country, which I think will have to act first. But the advice itself is heavy and consecutive. Then, the news was not a wonder in general because, anecdotal, it has happened for some time. The reports have been dating for some time saying that alcohol is bad in all quantities, and those effects have genuine consequences.
We were dry in January. Now he is also sober in October. I am sure that the March bar would possibly be the next one, then modest August. And as long as I can locate a rhyme for the month, I am sure it will queue. But more seriously, little through little, the tide opposite to alcohol has developed. Pedestrian traffic falls significantly in January. And wines manufacturers prevent hectares in hectares of vines.
I have a expensive friend, an exceptionally talented winemaker, who takes two years of paintings without a source of income because he no longer sees the application. I have a neighbor from the next city from where I live, who had a winery of 6,500 bottles, which preferred everyone inside a 50 mile radius. And made the resolution to avoid drinking and promoting more. So, for me, these effects are very consecutive, having to do it not only with the way other people live and have fun, but with businesses, with the type of culture we have, the type of product we have in our market and what we consume by meaning and joy.
So I need to highlight this. If someone has dependence on alcohol, then they could not be more supportive of their participation. And then I am nobody who tells anyone but they deserve to absorb or absorb a lot or very little. It turns out that something vital is lost in the conversation, that is, the difference in what does not go between a glass of wine and a bottle of bourbon is huge. And if the general surgeon of the Status Quo Medical will talk to consumers, he will have to locate more nuanced tactics to do so because the cultural values of the intake of safe drinks are very another of others, as well as the objectives of maximum other people who do it .
Of course, the government has the duty to assist consumers to avoid damage. No one here is arguing that there is no warning, that there is no help, there is no training. I just say it doesn’t sound like the solution. Just to communicate about me personally, I write about the wine professionally. I am obsessed with the wine. It contributes to a massive meaning for my life.
But I almost never have more than a glass, maybe two with a meal, because the purpose it serves for me has nothing to do with tipsiness, or becoming drunk, or becoming looser, or anything like that. It has to do with participating in an incredibly rich tradition and set of sensory, olfactory, psychological, even experiences that transport me to other places and times and make me feel things that so few other things do.
I’m here to say that there’s so much good looks and meaning to eating a small amount of wine, that having that big bite through threats and warnings, like the ones we’re seeing now that lack so much nuance, is disappointing and frustrating. Because it’s going to take a lot of other people away from a magical experience at one point in fact.
Last year, my wife and I took our eldest son, our daughter, to Istanbul. And while we were there, we went into a wine bar called Wayana, which focuses on local Turkish grapes. And there was a drink specific to a Turkish grape variety called Wayana, if I say that correctly, which makes the wine clear and fruity through red, compared to Pinot Noir.
I put my nose into that glass of wine and I smelled something that I have not smelled since I was six years old, in my grandmother’s kitchen in Soviet Minsk, which is where I was born, with me sitting at the kitchen table in that kitchen that I hadn’t thought of in close to 40 years at this point. The sunlight streaming through the window and such and such a way. And there was my grandmother, now 20 years dead, at the stove in the apron that she always wore when she cooked.
More than anything, it was the same exact smell. And it was putting my nose into that glass that brought me back into that kitchen and, for a nanosecond, brought my grandmother back to life. With all respect to science, I don’t care what warnings go on what bottles. This is an experience that I never want to do without.
I was on an airplane yesterday and passing the business class cabin, and there was a gentleman there wearing a t-shirt that said, but does it scale? There’s nothing about wine that scales. And I think that is such an important experience to embrace and to have, particularly in our lives right now, when everything is supposed to be repeatable and predictable and programmable. We are not programmable creatures. And every time I have a glass of wine, I’m reminded of that.
What I would like other people to stay in the brain is that it is not really wine. This is what you appreciate in life and what creates a meaning and how better we are in relation to our fallible, and if we can extract meaning and import as human beings from anything that is perhaps technically fallible.
I only need other people to prevent and think about it as a single example among many. In a life that is in danger of stripping of some kind of magic, because we are looking to protect ourselves from lifestyles, I need you to think about what your glass of wine is and defend that and keep that in your life, because that flame is beautiful . And there are some things in our fashion life styles that threaten her.
If you like this show, follow it on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. This show is produced by Derek Arthur, Sophia Alvarez Boyd, Vishakha Darbha, Phoebe Lett, Kristina Samulewski, and Jillian Weinberger. Its edited by Kaari Pitkin, Alison Bruzek, and Annie-Rose Strasser.
Engineering, mixing and original music through Isaac Jones, Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Carole Sabouraud and Efim Shapiro. Additional music through Aman Sahuta. The verification team is Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker and Michelle Harris. Shannon Busta Public Strategy, Kristina Samulewski and Adrian Rivera. The executive manufacturer of Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
transcription
This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.
It is “Opinions”, a screen that brings you a voice of the opinion of the New York Times. You have heard the news. This is what you should do with that.
[Reproducing music]
A caution for drinkers for the American doctor.
There is a causal link between alcohol and seven cancers.
Alcohol intake contributes to around 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 deaths year.
A reminder that he loads the caution labels already about alcohol, beer and wine.
So I heard this news last week, and I told myself, here is some other very dead binary solution to what seems like a very nuanced problem. My call is Boris Fishman, and I am basically a novelist. But in the beyond two years, I also discovered writing more and more about wine.
Then, last week, the general surgeon issued a advice that cancer warnings are implemented in all alcohol sales in this country, which I think Congress wishes to act first. But the advice itself is heavy and consistent. So the news was not a wonder in general because, anecdotally, it has been decreasing for some time. The reports have been leaving for some time saying that alcohol is bad in any amount, and those effects have genuine consequences.
We were dry in January. Now he is also sober in October. I am sure that the March bar would possibly be the next one, then modest August. And as long as I can locate a rhyme for the month, I am sure it will queue. But more seriously, little through little, the tide opposite to alcohol has developed. Pedestrian traffic falls significantly in January. And wines manufacturers prevent hectares in hectares of vines.
I have a expensive friend, an exceptionally talented winemaker, who takes two years of paintings without a source of income because he no longer sees demand. I have a neighbor from the next city that I live, which had a winery of 6,500 bottles that the envy of all within a radius of 50 miles. And he made the resolution to avoid drinking and selling the maximum of him. So, for me, these effects are very consecutive, not only have to do it with the way other people live and play, however, still with business, with the type of culture we have, the type of products we have in our market and what we consume by meaning and joy.
So I need to highlight this. If someone has alcohol dependence, then they couldn’t be more supportive of their involvement. And so I’m nobody who tells anybody else that they deserve to absorb or absorb a lot or very little. It turns out that something vital gets lost in the conversation, i. e. , the difference in what doesn’t go between a glass of wine and a bottle of bourbon is huge. And if the surgeon general of the medical status quo is going to talk to consumers, he’s going to have to locate more nuanced tactics to do so because the cultural values of safe beverage intake are very different from others, as are the goals of maximum other people who do it.
Of course, the government has a duty to assist consumers in avoiding harm. No one here is arguing that there is no warning, that there is no help, there is no training. I’m just saying that it doesn’t sound like the solution. Just to communicate about myself personally, I write about wine professionally. I’m obsessed with wine. It contributes to a massive meaning for my life.
But I almost never have more than one glass, two with one meal, because the goal that serves me has nothing to do with tips, gets drunk, or becomes more loose, or something. It has to do with participating in an incredibly rich culture and a set of sensory, olfactory and mental experiences, even that they send me to other positions and times and make me feel things that do so few things.
I am here to say that there is so much appearance and meaning in eating a small amount of wine, that having this great block through threats and warnings, such as those we see now that there are so many nuances, it is really disappointing and frustrating. Because many other people will remain in a magical experience at a fact.
Last year, my wife and I take our eldest son, our daughter, Istanbul. And while we were there, we entered a wine bar called Wayana, which focuses on local Turkish grapes. And there was a specific drink of a Turkish grape variety called Wayana, if I say it correctly, which makes the wine with transparent and fruit through red, compared to Pinot Noir.
I got my nose in that glass of wine and felt something I had not felt since I was six years old, in my grandmother’s kitchen in Minsk Soviet, where I was born, with me sitting at the kitchen table in this kitchen that had an idea of approximately 40 years at this time. The light of the light that comes through the window and this or that means. And my grandmother was, now 20 years old, in the apron stove she had been cooking.
More than anything, it is the same precise smell. And I put my nose in that glass that took me back to that kitchen and, for a Nanosecond, returned my grandmother’s life. With due respect for science, I don’t care about the warnings in the bottles. It is a delight that I never needed to have.
I was on an airplane yesterday and passing the business class cabin, and there was a gentleman there wearing a t-shirt that said, but does it scale? There’s nothing about wine that scales. And I think that is such an important experience to embrace and to have, particularly in our lives right now, when everything is supposed to be repeatable and predictable and programmable. We are not programmable creatures. And every time I have a glass of wine, I’m reminded of that.
What I would like other people to stick with in the brain is that it’s not really wine. This is what you appreciate in life and what creates meaning and how much better we are in relation to our fallible, and whether we can extract meaning and import as human beings from anything that is perhaps technically fallible.
I just need other people to prevent and think of it as one example among many. In a life that causes a sure kind of magic to collapse, because we revise to protect ourselves from lifestyles, I need you to think about what your glass of wine is and that you preserve it and that you keep this in your life, because this flame is precious. And there are sure things in our fashion lifestyles that threaten it.
If you like this screen, in Spotify, Apple or anywhere you get your podcasts. This exhibition is produced through Derek Arthur, Sophia Alvarez Boyd, Vishakha Darbha, Phoebe Lett, Kristina Samulewski and Jillian Weinberger. His edited through Kaari Pitkin, Alison Bruzek and Annie-Rose Stasser.
Engineering, mixing and original music through Isaac Jones, Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Carole Sabouraud and Efim Shapiro. Additional music via Aman Sahuta. The verification team is Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker and Michelle Harris. Public strategy by Shannon Busta, Kristina Samulewski and Adrian Rivera. The executive manufacturer of Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
By Boris Fishman and Jillian Weinberger
Produced by Vishakha Darbha
Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, recently recommended that cancer warnings be included on all alcohol products. The author and wine enthusiast Boris Fishman argues that doing so would place all forms of liquor in the same bucket — one that ignores the history, the generations of labor and the joy that accompany sipping a glass of wine. He’d like people “to think about this as just one example out of many in a life that risks becoming stripped of a certain kind of magic because we’re trying to protect ourselves out of existence.”
(A full transcript of this audio check will be available within 24 hours of posting to the audio player above. )
Thoughts? Send us an email to theopinions@nytimes. com.
This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha and Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud and Isaac Jones. Original music by Pat McCusker, Carole Sabouraud, Isaac Jones and Sonia Herrero. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
The Times is committed to publishing a variety of letters to the editor. We would like to hear from you or one of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: lets@nytimes. com.
Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and Threads.
Ad