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Does the Orthodox Church really admonish everyone to not drink or is this just a preference shown by some priests and not part of the belief? I ask because in Sirach 31:32 and other verses in this chapter, wine drinking does not seem to be vilified when done in moderation. I am told that the words of Sirach are considered wise, which is where my confusion lies (due to the apparent conflicting ideas being presented by some priests and this chapter).

Yes, the Orthodox Church really does admonish everyone to abstain from drinking wine and any intoxicating drink. This is not a matter of preference by some priests to vilify unseemly customs that people have created. Search the Holy Scripture and you will find ample admonition against drinking wine and all forms of intoxication. The Book of Leviticus admonishes against drinking wine and alcohol: "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die" (Leviticus 10:9). The passage that you mention in Sirach 31:32 states: "Wine taken with sobriety is equal life to men: if thou drink it moderately, thou shalt be sober." Table wine was considered useful for digestive purposes and, thus, served with meals. For this same reason, St. Paul advised the young bishop, Timothy: "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities" (1 Timothy 5:23). Later in Chapter 3, St. Paul provides the criteria for bishops and deacons, which also extends to their families and to the flock that they be: "not given to much wine" (1 Timothy 3:8), Thus, it is clear that if necessary, it must be in very small quantities. Addressing the firm instruction in Sirach 31:32, if one drinks this wine, he is to remain sober. To remain sober, means taking just a few sips, as in tablespoons, only for necessity, not in glassfuls, because a glass of wine can be intoxicating, making one lose sobriety, lose balance, and lose the ability to make sound judgment, etc.

The prophet Hosea says:
"Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart" (Hosea 4:11).

The prophet Habakkuk says:
"Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk" (Habakkuk 2:15).

The Book of Proverbs provides the instruction of a mother to her son warning him against drinking wine and any intoxicating drink:
"It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink; lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more" (Proverbs 31:4-7).

Many prophets, such as Isaiah, admonished the clergy and God's children against the foolishness of wine and intoxication drink:
"They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it" Isaiah (24:9)

When Archangel Gabriel described the greatness and excellence of character of St. John the Baptist to Zacharias the priest, he said: "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink" (Luke 1:15).

The prophet Daniel and the three saintly youth not only refused the kings food, but his drink and wine also, though they were in captivity: "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself...Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm" (Daniel 1:8,19-20).

Beware of the danger of taking one verse and building a case upon it solely. You must search deeper into the Holy Scripture.