Party-Goers Drink In a Message of Moderation

Vintner Michael Mondavi was “ready to duck behind the podium” the first couple of times he gave his “if you drink, don’t drive” speech on the society circuit. He was afraid folks would be offended.

But when he stood before 420 guests at the recent Art of Dining gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach, party-goers appreciated the reminder.

“I think we in the industry have a responsibility to not only tell people about the benefits of wine but to tell them that, when they’re driving, they should enjoy more of the aromatics and less of the liquid.”

That means, “sip a little and smell a lot,” Mondavi says, “instead of drinking it all.”

Art of Dining chairman Sam Goldstein was so intent on preventing “possible automobile accidents” after the gala’s wine-soaked eight-course dinner that he made limousine and van service available. Half of the crowd took him up on it.

But guests didn’t drink that much. “Generally, they were taking two sips at each course,” said Goldstein, who for five years has been the spark plug behind the benefit for the Newport Harbor Art Museum. “No doubt about it, people are drinking less.”

Welcome to High Society lite. On a charity circuit where booze frequently contributes to the bottom line (alcohol does loosen up those checkbooks for raffle and auction item purchases), excessive drinking has become taboo.

A single glass of wine per person has become the norm. Sobriety has become socially acceptable.

“Because of increased health awareness and education about drinking and driving, a greater acceptance of abstention has developed,” says Kenneth Schmaling, who is executive director of the local chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. “There is definitely a trend toward more appropriate use.”

There are two kinds of social drinkers, Schmaling notes. “The sober drinker who indulges in moderate consumption with no loss of control of self, and the pathological drinker, who indulges in high consumption accompanied by impairment of self, remorse and embarrassment.”

We’re not seeing many of the latter on the social scene. “As people generally drink less, the drinking of others stands out more,” he says. So, self-conscious about their intake, heavy drinkers are cutting back to protect their social cachet.

“Nobody likes to sit next to a drunk,” Schmaling says. “They’re obnoxious.”

Schmaling defines moderate drinking as a glass or two of wine enjoyed over a three- or four-hour period. “Anything over that, people are putting themselves at risk for problems.”

Mondavi says the proper fill-point for a glass of wine is about one-third or 40%. “And I make it a point to have water on the table when I’m drinking wine. I drink more water than wine whether I’m driving or not.”

Thomas Voss, the Hyatt Regency’s food and beverage director, thinks people are developing the same negative attitude toward drinkers as they are toward smokers. “We see them smoke and we say to ourselves: ‘ low class. ‘ Same with people who drink too much.”

These days Voss has few problems with people who overindulge, he says. But, just in case someone has too much to drink at a gala, he is prepared. “If a waiter sees someone who is intoxicated, he informs his supervisor, and the captain goes to that person, asking him not to drink anymore. We are liable and take our responsibility very seriously.”

Alcoholic beverages have almost disappeared from the luncheon banquet scene, says Katharyn Sherman, catering director of the Hyatt Regency Irvine. “At charity and corporate lunches almost no wine is being served, when, just a few years ago, each guest would have had a glass or two.”

Instead, guests are ordering flavored waters--pretty, pastel-colored liquids that guarantee pizazz without headaches. Favorites are the cranberry flavor sold by Sundance and the raspberry distributed by Clearly Canadian. “People just don’t want to worry,” Sherman says.

To prepare for what he believes will be a continuing trend, Voss is expanding his assortment of flavored waters to include a hot new, natural soda called Snapple. “I saw the flavored-water trend develop a few years ago when a water bar opened in Beverly Hills,” he says. “They’re hot and getting hotter.

“People who like the ‘waters’ are people who like to remain calm, clearheaded and sharp.”