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"but my father was an alcoholic"
I'm sorry you had to live through that. I don't think that was what Belloc was referencing. Jesus drank wine as did the Apostles. Jesus was accusd of being a drunk; so was the first Pope - see Peter at Pentecost telling the crowd it isnt even noon yet so how could they be drunk (my own standard is to not get drunk prior to lunch).
I think it true the European countries that Belloc referenced had a lower rate of alcoholism than does puritanical America with its either/or approach. Wine was a regular part of the Mediterranean life - still is - and The "Mediterranean Diet" calls for its wise use for "medical reasons." But, who wants to take the pleasure out of wine by saying "my doctor told me to drink 2 glases a day?"

The Bible both praises and cautions us about the use of wine. Nobody praises alcoholism or sin. Belloc certainly wasn't.
It is too often the case that one either abstains or gets drunk rather than being schooled in how to drink in moderation. I taught my kids at a young age how to drink. They always could have a drink at any time at any age and they went through High Schol without EVER drinking and driving or drinking to intoxication or drinking without us knowing it.
Temperance, in Catholicism, does not mean no alcohol.
It is the virtue that moderates the desire for pleasure. We are not Puritans nor are we Pagans. The wise use of wine IS a delight and Belloc is absolutely correct in sighting its healthy and happy use.

Thanks for your kind reply on the alcohol question. I understand what you are saying, and I agree that wine drinking in Mediterranean nations appears to be a healthy part of the culture. My own antecedents were Irish, a culture with serious alcohol problems, handed on from one generation to the next. Every culture has its own problems, and its own virtues. I do not know why some nations (such as the Russians and the Irish) have so great a problem with alcohol. It may even be genetic. We are products of own enviroment, and, as a reaction to my childhood, I can't stand drinking. Even more, I can't stand the alcoholic lifestyle - the dependency, the abuse, the habit of falsehood. I think this may be the background to some of these clergy who have been disgraceful. Just my thoughts.