French Hospital Opens Wine Bar For Patients

Terminally ill patients deserve a glass of wine as much as anybody, and a hospital in France has decided to make that happen by opening up a new on-site wine bar that will offer "medically supervised" wine tastings.

According to The Local, the new wine bar will open at the palliative care center at the Clermont-Ferrand hospital in Puy-de-Dôme in southern France. The wine bar will be the first such facility in France, and will be open to the hospital's patients as well as their friends and relatives.

"A situation can be palliative for several weeks or even several months and it's because life is so precious and real until the end that we decided to cultivate all that is fine and good," said Dr. Virginie Guastella. "It's a way of rethinking the care of others, taking into account their feelings and emotions that make them a human being."

The wine bar will be stocked with fine wines, Champagne, and whiskey. The hospital says it hopes access to the wine bar will help brighten the lives of terminally ill patients and allow them to enjoy themselves a bit in their final days.