September will see the opening of a new wine bar in Clermont-Ferrand, central France. It has made the news in France because this wine bar is in the palliative care department of the city’s hospital.
Palliative care is supposed to be about improving patients’ quality of life, and in the case of the terminally ill patients in the care of Doctor Virginie Guastella, that quality could well be improved by being able to share a drink openly with their family.
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In an article on a website for university hospitals in France, head of the palliative care department of Clermont-Ferrand’s hospital, Dr. Guastella defends the right of patients to be given the means to enjoy themselves.
She believes that nothing should stop someone at the end of their life from enjoying something the French have always valued; those special, convivial moments of sharing good food and drink with family and friends.
The bar will be stocked from a cellar at the hospital with good wines, Champagne and whisky donated by local organizations. The hospital even hopes to add a selection of fine grands crus to the cellar. Training will be given to carers so that they can properly supervise the wine bar.
The past few months, even years, have seen a barrage of anti-wine-drinking news from France, as the interpretation of the country’s Evin Law that regulates how wine can be promoted, remains under scrutiny.
The latest piece of French regulation gives the right to employers to ban wine in the workplace, meaning that the glass of wine at lunch, once an integral part of French culture, could be forbidden at work.
So here at last, is a sensibly thought-out human victory for wine drinkers in France, even if it is only applicable to a tiny and unusual segment of the population — those right at the end of their lives.
It is hoped that the wine bar at Clermont-Ferrand’s palliative care center will be a success, so that the initiative can be copied elsewhere in France and beyond.
