Who drinks?

This summer past, Razib Khan poked into the GSS to discover some interesting data on which Americans drink alcohol. There are positive, linear correlations with education and income. More men drink than women, more liberals than conservatives. The non-religious were more likely to drink than the religious. Unsurprisingly, Catholics came a close second to the non-religious. Southern protestants were on the other end of the scale. Perhaps they substitute pies and fried foods, given that they also are fatter than the rest of us. Or perhaps that’s because drinking also is associated with increased exercise? Interesting correlations. Don’t confuse with causation, as did that last link, and don’t use as an excuse to drink excessively.

For a few more days, we’re not drinking. The holiday feasts were bountiful, and my weight crept up to the dreaded 10 mark. So it’s a fortnight of abstemiousness. The photo shows an Argentine vineyard planted in Malbec. Which isn’t quite the same grape as the French Malbec (Côt) grown in Cahors. Soon, someone will do a genetic analysis of grape varieties, and set the wine world straight on how they are related. Whatever the precise cuttings Miguel Pouget brought to Argentina a century and half past, oenophiles today owe him gratitude.