God told me to stop drinking when he saved me. I was an alcoholic, stopped completely with no side effects, haven’t had a drink in 38 years now.
I personally think no one should drink alcohol. But, it really isn’t my business. Unless God directly tells me to say something, I do not. So, basically never.
What I observed in my own life, and still see everywhere, including the church, is most people don’t drink in moderation. They start, lose their inhibitions, fail to recognize their limitations, and drink to excess. Not everyone, of course. And it seems like alcohol at a meal is not often an issue. Of course, who knows if some people keep drinking when they leave the restaurant?
But, unless God has directly told you not to drink alcohol, like me, I don’t see it as a sin. Well, except for excess!
“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” Gal 5:19-21
Pretty sure from this passage and others like it, that drinking to excess is a sin!