So. Dry January is over then.

[cheektpara]

I was very pleased and smug last month doing dry jan -

I definitely don't drink every day but over the grand pandemic years I was easily becoming a 3 bottles of wine a week drinker. 1 bottle was going down in an evening like nothing, no effect the next day, which worried me.

So dry jan was lovely, reset my demons and all that.

Tonight DH is out so I thought I'd have a nice bottle of fizz over lunch with a friend. That disappeared in 45 mins so we opened another, and had had a bottle each by 3. It just slipped down like water.

Does anyone else do that? Not a daily or even weekly drinker, but you can inhale a bottle in one go? That wasn't the moderation I was aiming for.

I also never order 1 small glass at lunch because it feels inefficient/a waste of money if you're going to drink a bottle. So you order a bottle and it's gone in no time.

But if I'd ordered small glasses I'd have spent 3x the amount.

It is definitely easy for wine to go down quicker than intended when the company is good and the conversation flowing! I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done the same in the past and probably will again!

The past year I have done sober October and dry January, and I also don't drink during the week, and have started to only drink if we're having people round (which I'm afraid is most weekends now that we're enjoying ourselves post pandemic again) or if we're going out.

It does annoy me that 3 glasses costs more than a bottle though, it pushes you to ordering a bottle when you might not otherwise. To remedy this, I have begun bringing take out insulated cups to restaurants and pouring leftover wine into it. I then take it home and pop it in the fridge for another day. Then I'm not wasting wine or money.

I’ve done similar in the past. Fizz in particular goes down very easily, especially when you’re enjoying it with a friend. I had a couple of gins after dry January and felt horrendous the following day. It really put me off, but for how long I don’t know!

I've deliberately switched to gin and tonics for this exact reason, OP.

Wine is too easy to drink, for me.

I can easily finish a bottle in an evening and ponder opening another.

I've been on G&T since 1st Jan and love it, I have a single shot, massive tonic, most nights and don't crave more, nor do i binge on rubbish that I did when I was drinking wine.

I wish I liked gin and tonic, but despite DH drinking it for years and trying to entice me with fancy gourmet Japanese gin I just don't love it.

Whereas red wine/prosecco/champagne just goes into me like water.

I can abstain. I just don't seem to moderate, especially with friends.

I love love love wine with lunch or dinner.

I love love loved wine too, OP.

I think I just got to the right point in my life where it feels right to give it it.

3 bottles of wine a week is about 30 units.

It's also the equivalent of around 3 to 4 Big Macs or about 9 Mars Bars.

It's only been 6 weeks for me though, so who knows... but I'm really enjoying not being beholden to the wine fairy so fingers crossed.

What is it you really need want about it, OP?