<p>I found drinking in London was really out of control when I worked there for a bit around 1990. Maybe it was just the banking industry (doubt it) but people really tended to drink excessively and get incredibly plastered. Going out with work folk almost every day of the week and getting hammered was just the everyday thing for 20 to 30 yo’s. Sometimes I’d join people for a meal, like brunch, and we’d hit up several puts before ‘closing’ first. Really hard to stay sober when your dinner invite takes you on extended drinking rounds before you get any food in you. So I can’t agree that training early in the teen years is a good thing in England. At work, some people would be so hungover they would fall asleep and others would shave off an eyebrow or sprinkle hot pepper flakes in the mouth for the amusement of their colleagues.</p>
<p>I think Colby’s program is very nice and a basic knowledge of wines is a nice thing to have in one’s repetoire. It also acknowledges that these students are, after all, 21.</p>