“Wine was my thing” - Denzel Washington on overcoming alcoholism and 10 years of sobriety

“Wine was my thing” – Denzel Washington on overcoming alcoholism and 10 years of sobriety

Zuko Komisa

Denzel Washington is opening up about his former alcoholism, revealing that he once drank two bottles of wine every day.

Washington allegedly claimed to have constructed a wine cellar in 1999 that could accommodate 10,000 bottles in his home, and he frequently attempted to cover up his addiction by indulging in upscale purchases, according to Relevant Magazine.

He recently wrote about his sobriety journey and how there was a period where he realized that he was causing damage to his body.

“Wine was my thing, and now I was popping $4,000 bottles just because that’s what was left. And then later in those years I’d call Gil Turner’s Fine Wines & Spirits on Sunset Boulevard and say, ‘Send me two bottles, the best of this or that.’ And my wife’s saying, ‘Why do you keep ordering just two?’ I said, ‘Because if I order more, I’ll drink more.’ So I kept it to two bottles, and I would drink them both over the course of the day.”

“I had this ideal idea of wine tastings and all that, which is what it was at first,” he wrote.

“And that’s a very subtle thing. I mean, I drank the best. I drank the best.

“I’ve done a lot of damage to the body,” he continued. “We’ll see. I’ve been clean 10 years this December. I stopped at 60 and I haven’t had a thimble’s worth since. Things are opening up for me now – like being 70. It’s real. And it’s OK. This is the last chapter – if I get another 30, what do I want to do? My mother made it to 97.” wrote Washington in an Esquire piece titled The Book of Denzel

Denzel Washington portrays Macrinus in Gladiator 2, a former slave who rises to prominence in Rome.

In the movie he purchases Lucius (Paul Mescal), the illegitimate grandson of the legendary Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, and operates a gladiator school. Together, Macrinus and Lucius defeat the formidable general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), who is attempting to take control.

Written by: Zuko