What does wine putty mean?

Now it refers to people who can't live without wine, but they drink too much after drinking wine; In the past, it refers to people who "soak in pubs".

This is an image saying that people who do nothing in small restaurants and small hotels all day are stuck there like putty. All the money earned is spent on wine, and there is no money to buy snacks and drinks.

The pub mentioned here refers to a pub that is opened in an alley and only serves people who drink in this alley.