Denzel Washington revealed that December 2024 will mark a decade since he had any wine.
The movie star, 69, spoke to Esquire magazine amid his promotional tour for his new film Gladiator II – explaining that he started drinking two bottles of expensive wine a day after he and his wife Pauletta built a house in 1999 that had a 10,000 bottle wine cellar.
Denzel said he would stop the habit while preparing to work on a film and also during filming – but immediately resume once his projects wrapped – a pattern he did for 15 years.
The star, who turns 70 years old on December 28, said wine ‘did a lot of damage’ to his body.
Denzel told the magazine that his wine drinking really began in 1999 – although he did say he drank wine prior to that – when he and his wife built their house ‘with a ten-thousand-bottle wine cellar,’ explaining that is when he ‘learned to drink the best.’
Explaining: ‘So I’m gonna drink my ’61s and my ’82s and whatever we had.’
‘Wine was my thing,’ Denzel explained, ‘and now I was popping $4,000 bottles just because that’s what was left.’
The movie star said he would call the LA area-wine shop Gil Turner’s Fine Wines & Spirits and tell them: ‘”Send me two bottles, the best of this or that.” An my wife’s saying, “Why do you keep ordering just two?” I said, “Because if I order more, I’ll drink more.”‘
Denzel said that he would limit his daily wine intake to two bottles – drinking them both ‘over the course of the day.’
He did this daily for 15 years – only stopping during preparations for a new project and during filming.
After months of filming, he would resume his two wine bottles daily habit.
He said that he had this idea to do wine tastings at first because he only drank the best wine.
Denzel said that he never got ‘strung out on’ heroin or coke although he did say he ‘shot dope just like they shot dope’ but he ‘never got strung out.’
The actor told Esquire December will mark ten years since he’s had wine, noting that he’s ‘done a lot of damage to the body’ from the habit.
Denzel stars as Macrinus in the film Gladiator II, which also features Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn.
The film, directed by Ridley Scott, is set to drop in theaters on November 22.
