Does Adelaide have a drinking problem?
So many cellar doors!
I have written before about my home city of Adelaide, South Australia, and its many features, including ghosts! See the links below for those tales.
But Adelaide has a dark side, it seems many of our population have a drinking problem.
At Adelaide Airport the other day, and I took the opportunity to take the photograph above, proudly displayed near the international arrival terminal by our tourist bureau, as though it was a good thing. “Over 200 cellar doors within an hour of the city.” These are winery cellar doors, and 200 so close by, surely we have a drinking problem!?
People attempt to dress up drinking, especially wine, as being sophisticated, matching various wines with different foods. Then attempting to have a refined palate and savor the sourness, the aroma, and the aftertaste of wine, when really, they probably just like getting drunk.
A way for a person to test themselves as to whether they have a drinking problem, is to stop drinking. Can you do this for a day, a week, a month? Does the term Dry July make you shudder!? Dry in this case means not drinking, it doesn’t mean only have dry wines!
If you’re of that group of people that believe a glass or two of red is ok or even good for you, a recent systematic review of studies found that any level of alcohol consumption is associated with worse non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease NAFLD, that is, even within recommended limits (Jarvis et al., 2022).
Alcohol also seriously affects the pancreas. An international cohort analysis showed alcohol is the main disease-causing factor for both chronic and acute pancreatitis, with alcohol and smoking amplifying each other’s harmful effects (Szentesi et al., 2022).
So please come to Adelaide, and enjoy this beautiful city and its surrounds, but visit the cellar doors at your own risk.
If I haven’t put you off wine and alcohol completely, and you want to visit some of those 200 cellar doors, here are some tips.
The Adelaide Hills wineries are closest to the city, if you are limited for time, you could do a half day trip. It is a very pretty region, and is also often a little cooler in the hills if you are here on a hot day (Adelaide Hills Wineries, 2021).
North of the city is the famous Barossa Valley wine region, where there are many wineries. This region is worth a visit for its beautiful vistas and historic buildings, even if you don’t drink (Barossa Our Wineries, 2022).
South of Adelaide is the McLaren Vale wine region, again with many beautiful vineyards. It is closer to Adelaide than the Barossa Valley, and has the added benefit of being reasonably close to some of our perfect beaches (McLaren Vale, 2022).
Transport by car or wine tour bus is needed to visit many of the wineries, and drink driving is a very serious offence here. Our blood alcohol limit is 0.05% for driving but it is also illegal to drive if you are not in control, which may be with any alcohol in your blood (Drink Driving and the Law Factsheet, 2022).
So, it is much better to have a dedicated driver who doesn’t drink alcohol for the day, or go on an organized bus tour.
Alternatively, visit our olive groves producing Extra Virgin Olive Oils EVOO, they are definitely worth a tasting trip! Verdale Olive Estate (oliveindustrynetwork.com.au)
Enjoy Adelaide. Cheers!
Links to wineries:
Adelaide Hills Wineries (2021) Wineries & Cellar Doors | Visit Adelaide Hills
Barossa Our Wineries (2022) Our wineries | Barossa
McLaren Vale (2022) McLaren Vale Info Official Website of… | McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association
More of my Medium articles about Adelaide:
Adelaide Adelaide. Capital of South Australia. | by Peter Miles | Show Your City | Medium
Adelaide Haunted Places Adelaide Haunted Places. Ghosts, disembodied voices and the… | by Peter Miles | Show Your City | Medium
Adelaide and the Vietnamese Boat People Adelaide and the Vietnamese Boat People | by Peter Miles | Show Your City | Medium
Adelaide and the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial Adelaide and the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial | by Peter Miles | Show Your City | Medium
References:
Drink Driving and the Law Factsheet (2022) legal services Commission of South Australia Drink Driving and the Law Factsheet — Legal Services Commission of SA (lsc.sa.gov.au)
Jarvis, H., O’Keefe, H., Craig, D., Stow, D., Hanratty, B., & Anstee, Q. M. (2022). Does moderate alcohol consumption accelerate the progression of liver disease in NAFLD? A systematic review and narrative synthesis. BMJ open, 12(1), e049767. Does moderate alcohol consumption accelerate the progression of liver disease in NAFLD? A systematic review and narrative synthesis | BMJ Open
Szentesi, A., Farkas, N., Sipos, Z., Mátrai, P., Vincze, Á., Izbéki, F., … & Hegyi, P. (2022). Alcohol consumption and smoking dose-dependently and synergistically worsen local pancreas damage. Gut. Alcohol consumption and smoking dose-dependently and synergistically worsen local pancreas damage | Gut (bmj.com)
