My drinking progressed to the point where I was consuming a magnum of wine per day but in hindsight I can see I was always an alcoholic. If I have one drink I can't stop, I simply lack the internal off-switch of normal drinkers. I've been sober since 1991, thank God, and continue to not-drink one day at a time.
I could never have gotten -- or stayed -- sober alone and AA saved my life. I still go to meetings and do service because I know I could drink again (hey, it's not a disease of the elbow!).
Great post! Thanks!