Why do some people drink in the evenings?

[ThatOneTime]

Something I’ve always been curious about really, but never bothered asking because it’s none of my business😂 But I’ve been seeing people post about it so much recently and it’s piqued my curiosity once again. I’m hoping that somebody could please explain the appeal to me?

To me wine doesn’t taste particularly nice, even the good ones. It costs a lot if you want one that’s not grim, it’s full of calories, it’s not great for health and one or two glasses won’t do much more than make you feel a bit groggy and headachey. I do drink socially and enjoy it, but if I only end up having one or two I stay sober and just feel a bit crap and my mood just gets dragged down a bit.

What is it I’m missing? Is it really just code for actually drinking a full bottle or two and having a one man party every night? Do some people actually love the taste, or get some kind of good effect from a small amount? Honestly dying to know😂

I’ve had two glasses of wine this evening and feel great. Red, not super expensive, probably £10 reduced from about £13, I buy what’s on offer. I won’t feel it in the morning. One more glass and I might do, but one or two and I’m fine. Probably won’t drink again until at least Thursday.

I’d like to know this too OP!

I had a glass on Friday and a glass tonight. Red, £5/20 bottle. I like the taste, it’s relaxing and I glass won’t be noticeable in the morning. It’s been decades since I could drink a whole bottle in a evening.

I don’t like coffee, Prosecco, gin or milk. I don’t eat meat. All these care very popular, just not with me.

Work don't like it if I drink in the morning before I go in.

I love the taste of red wine and find one or two small glasses just relaxes me a little without getting 'tipsy' per say. We probably open a bottle of red once a week and drink it over two nights - not necessarily consecutively. Actually used to drink more often in the evenings before I had children, but my twins, just turned 3, aren't always great sleepers and I don't find even a small glass of wine mixes well with night wake ups.

Every Thursday Friday and Saturday night I drink between one and two bottles of wine I'm pretty stressed out by the kids by Thursday and the older ones go their dads for two nights so I don't have any school runs to do in the morning.

I sometimes feel a bit groggy in the mornings but it's worth it, I love my wine and crisps nights

I'm under no illusions that this is healthy btw, and every now and then I won't do it for a couple of weeks.

@Wnkingawalrus

I’ve had two glasses of wine this evening and feel great. Red, not super expensive, probably £10 reduced from about £13, I buy what’s on offer. I won’t feel it in the morning. One more glass and I might do, but one or two and I’m fine. Probably won’t drink again until at least Thursday.

What do you mean by feeling great, does two glasses affect you at all? It takes me more than a full bottle to start feeling giddy or tipsy. Anything less just doesn’t affect me at all until the dehydration hits haha!

I like the taste a lot. It’s lovely to drink. If you don’t like wine, of course you can’t see the appeal. But clearly plenty of people do like it - and that’s why they drink it..!
After a glass or two I can “feel” it, but that’s not the main point.

Everyone has a vice

One or two glasses of good wine gives me a lovely feeling, fuzzy relaxed happy convivial chatty. It also makes me unproductive in the evenings and if I overdo it affects my mental health. I have to be careful with booze because it does work in the moment to relax me and alleviate any negative feelings, but long term it’s not good.

Why do some people drink tea or coffee? Or eat chocolate? Or go sky diving? Or play golf?

Because we all have different tastes and like different things.

@Foxglovesandlilacs86 thanks for the honesty, getting tipsy/a bit drunk makes much more sense to me because it makes everything more fun. Plus the crisp taste so much better🤣!

I don't drink but I enjoy a mug of coffee in the evening while I'm watching TV/relaxing to just take the edge off the day. I assume it's part of a similar wind down time for those that enjoy a glass/bottle or two of wine or any other drink of choice.

Alcohol tolerance is very varied between people. I have one glass of wine with dinner a few nights a week. I like the taste and feel relaxed and happy with it. I pretty much never drink more than that because I would feel drunk and then rough the next day. I’ve always had low tolerance levels - I think a full bottle of wine would finish me off!

I feel exactly the same about it as you OP, in fact I'd say all "home drinking" does for me is rob me of my evening by making me so groggy I just wander off to bed early, have what feels like an okay sleep but my smartwatch tells me otherwise, then feel depressed the whole of the next day. Completely different when I drink on a social night out. I'm almost completely T total these days. All I can guess is that it has different effects for different people, and I suppose it depends on your stress levels as I know when I've been VERY stressed in the past it has taken it down several notches, but that's just a slippery slope as you have to do hair of the dog the next day to keep it up or you just feel worse about your problems.
At times I've had a drink in the evening when the kids were small and I wasn't working, just to feel like I was doing something adult and treating myself after they'd gone to bed. Soon realised it wasn't worth it though!

I don't really drink any more, and don't at all when I'm stressed because I've been down that road, and when I did, I drank every night because it was an escape from what was going on in my life at the time, it dulled the anxiety and stress to a manageable level for at least a few hours and helped me sleep.
But that was at its worst, it started socially with going out a lot or having people round for a drink and it was fun, I had a better view of myself and the world in general after a few and I was also a bit braver and said/did things I wouldn't normally - though that wasn't always a good thing! It then became an escape when going out wasn't possible or people weren't available to come round, I don't think I was ever addicted truly, but was heading that way.
I can see the appeal of relaxation still though, but I know where that might lead for me so I've found other ways.

I don't drink now but when I did drinking wine at the end of day used to give me a nice buzz. That glass at 6pm marked the end of a stressful day.
The reason I stopped was because it started to creep up (my consumption) and I stopped getting the buzz. Danger signs.
I can't believe I used to need a drink to relax. I'm feeling so much better now waking up clear headed every day.

Because my head is constantly buzzing with 185729485 tabs open and it's the only thing that makes it shut the fuck up for an hour or two.

one or two glasses won’t do much more than make you feel a bit groggy and headachey.

Surely you mean you?

@MoonriseKingdom

Alcohol tolerance is very varied between people. I have one glass of wine with dinner a few nights a week. I like the taste and feel relaxed and happy with it. I pretty much never drink more than that because I would feel drunk and then rough the next day. I’ve always had low tolerance levels - I think a full bottle of wine would finish me off!

Alcohol tolerance is very varied, a woman I work with drinks a cocktail, 2 bottles of wine and a brandy every night and she doesn’t feel drunk, before I met her I would’ve assumed anyone would be falling down drunk after all that!

Of course people like the taste. Why on earth would they drink it if they didn't? Obviously if you don't like the taste of it then you won't understand why people enjoy it, but you surely understand that people have different tastes to you?

To me wine doesn’t taste particularly nice, even the good ones

Well that’s why you can’t see the point then

I had a glass of wine tonight, bottle was a £10 Gewürztraminer. I sipped it throughout the evening. No side effects/tipsiness whatsoever. I won’t have any kind of hangover tomorrow. I just like the taste of wine. I could have had a cup of tea instead, but felt like a glass of wine.

Usually takes me a week to finish the bottle (3-4 nights, spaced out over the week). I buy a bottle every 4 weeks or so, so hardly a heavy drinker. I’m not sure why you are so keen to believe that anyone drinking alcohol outside of a pub is getting roaring drunk by themselves every night? Most of us can drink sensibly.

@garlicandsapphires this is a really good explanation, this is exactly how I feel just after opening my second bottle. Maybe it’s just a case of different alcohol tolerance levels🤔
I get what you mean with the mental health. I hate evenings because I feel super productive but have to wait until morning when everywhere opens haha.

@Talipesmum I’ve never met anybody who actually enjoys the taste of wine so it’s enlightening to hear that some people do. That helps it make more sense😁

I love the taste of wine! I also love the way it makes me feel relaxed and calm. I don't drink week days but will have wine on Friday and Saturday evenings. Also not everyone suffers with hangovers or feeling groggy etc the next day. I don't really unless I have had more than one bottle!

I’ve never met anybody who actually enjoys the taste of wine
I dont believe you. Unless you're about 12 years old or something.