Drinking wine is something the Bible is not explicit about, but it does give the following directives:

"It is not right to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble" (Romans 14:21).

"Take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare" (Luke 21:34).

The footnotes from the Spirit-Filled Life Bible under Proverbs 23 reads: "Here is a brief essay against alcohol abuse. Wine is described as dangerous as a snake (v. 32), producing hallucinations (v. 33), bad language (v. 33) and insensitivity (vv. 34, 35)."

Colin Brown's New International Dictionary of the New Testament-Volume 3, says "On the one hand, it (wine) is one of God's gifts of creation to be enjoyed, but on the other hand to refrain from drinking may be necessary for the sake of the Gospel...Timothy is exhorted to drink a little wine for his stomach's sake (I Timothy 5:23), but moderation is not to be confused with license. Ephesians 5:18 warns against excessive drinking: 'and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit."

In a drug-oriented society many dedicated believers feel that abstinence is the best policy--thereby "crucifying their sinful nature with its passions and desires" (see Galatians 5:16-24).

With these directives, along with what the medical profession has proven about alcoholic beverages--that it kills brain cells, as well as causes a numbing of our central nervous system--pray and ask the Lord to give you discernment for your own life, without being judgmental of others. In the end, you must cultivate your own convictions. You must think biblically and then decide conscientiously.