I think many, even most, who have failed at this would have failed even if they did not attend that party, concert, dinner or celebration. It would have been a neighbour offering a beer, an offer of a free sample at a product promotion, an eye catching advertisement, a poster in a store window. The question of drinking again for them is not a yes or no, it's on a graded continuum. Well, just one, what could that hurt?
What is missing for many is that decision, that covenant, that turns sobriety into an all or nothing. For me, to drink again, even just that one shot, beer, or glass of wine, would be to trade my life, my mental and physical health, my family and marriage, my job, the whole shebang. When I look at it like that, it makes the decision very simple. There are no shades of grey.
I don't go on wine tours or to any event where consuming alcohol is the primary activity, but I don't deny myself the pleasures of good food and good company, or even activities I used to do while heavily intoxicated. I spent decades imprisoned by alcohol, unable to drive or unwilling to trade 'my time' with my bottle. Now, I refuse to be imprisoned by my sobriety, living in fear of my own frailty. I don't have a fatal allergy to alcohol, but I do have an unconditional unchangeable vow to never again consume it.
Life is to be lived and lived well. And that is my view.