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Original poster

Why do some people drink in the evenings?

224 replies

ThatOneTime · 03/04/2022 23:17

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😂

OP posts:
echt · 04/04/2022 10:36

@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😂

Yet another thread by a newcomer to MN with faux-naif claims.

Lazy journalist looking for copy?
Bone-idle student looking to old out the dissertation?

So it's "none of your business", but you ask anyway?

Hmm
Dundonian · 04/04/2022 10:40

I could ask the same of people who drink tea or coffee but that would be pointless as I recognise we all have different tastes and enjoy different things.

ClinkeyMonkey · 04/04/2022 10:46

You should have asked more specifically why people drink WINE in the evenings, because there are other drinks - gin, vodka, rum, beer, cider etc. Is it the fact people like to drink in the evenings, or the fact they like to drink wine ... in the evenings? Would it be ok if people drank something you like? Or is it just wine you have a problem with? I like the smell and the taste of wine. I drink a glass (occasionally two) on a Friday and a Saturday when I don't have to get up the next morning. I enjoy it. I don't get drunk. Those days are well behind me.

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General food
irregularegular · 04/04/2022 10:48

I often have a glass or two of wine in the evening. More often I don't, but it certainly isn't unusual, especially at the weekend. I would almost always have wine if going out for dinner, but would also regularly drink with dinner at home, or later in the evening, with just DH, or just me if I'm alone.

Yes I like the taste. It complements food better than anything else. It relaxes me slightly I guess. It doesn't make me feel groggy and headachey. Groggy would take more than a glass or two, and I never really get headaches from drink. I think that there are actually health benefits of moderate amounts of red wine www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265635#summary (not that this is why I drink, but I'm not worried by risks).

I'd rather have a glass of wine in the evening than snacks. I almost never eat anything after dinner (which is almost always just a main course at home, no dessert). I don't really "understand" why people eat crisps, chocolate etc in the evening. Except that people have different tastes.

Ragwort · 04/04/2022 10:51

Mam yes, I loathe the faux 'naughtiness' of wanting a glass of wine and giggling about it. The ridiculous expression 'I'll have a cheeky glass of wine' ... what's 'cheeky' about a glass of wine?

If I want a glass of wine I will have a glass of wine and - shock - I am quite comfortable drinking wine in front of my DC.

irregularegular · 04/04/2022 10:52

I’ve never met anybody who actually enjoys the taste of wine so it’s enlightening to hear that some people do.

Really????? Why on earth do you think they were drinking wine then? Especially more expensive wine. It's not as if it the cheapest way to get drunk if that is the goal.

Vampirethriller · 04/04/2022 11:27

How did you get to (presumably) adulthood without understanding that some people like wine? What did you think wine bars/wine tasting/the huge variety of wines on sale in every supermarket/wine lists in restaurants were all about?

Thesefeetaremadeforwalking · 04/04/2022 11:29

Q. Why do some people drink in the evenings?

A. Because it's nice ! (in moderation)

CornishGem1975 · 04/04/2022 11:31

It's all relative to personal taste isn't it.

I hate the taste of coffee, it's garbage, but other people love it. Why do people like several cups of coffee a day? It's a mystery to me.

ReadyToMoveIt · 04/04/2022 11:31

@Vampirethriller

How did you get to (presumably) adulthood without understanding that some people like wine? What did you think wine bars/wine tasting/the huge variety of wines on sale in every supermarket/wine lists in restaurants were all about?
This. OP, have you ever looked at a wine list in a restaurant? Some people spend £100’s on a bottle of wine. Do you think they’d do that if they didn’t like the taste?!
SwedishEdith · 04/04/2022 11:35

@teezletangler

I suspect this might be what the OP drank 9 bottles of. Each to their own, I suppose [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alasia-Brachetto-dAcqui-5-5-75cl/dp/B005JYSW5C]]

OP this is very much an age and stage thing. I certainly wasn't relaxing at home with a glass of wine on a Friday evening when I was 25. If I wasn't out, then it was probably just a cup of tea. But as a 42 year old mother of young children who rarely goes out socially in the evenings, I definitely enjoy a glass of wine a couple of times a week. I usually have mine earlier, while I cook dinner- cook's drink!

I remember in my early 20s that I used to drink Lambrusco and thought I was sophisticated .That looks similar. Probably works fine in the day in Italy as a light drink with lunch but tastes too sweet. You'd be sick after 9 bottles didn't happen but not because of the alcohol content.
Twitterwhooooo · 04/04/2022 11:39

Good point.

I rarely if ever drank at home when I was younger, the exception being the evening after I'd finished a run of night shifts, but go out much less these days!

SmellyOldOwls · 04/04/2022 12:04

@irregularegular

I often have a glass or two of wine in the evening. More often I don't, but it certainly isn't unusual, especially at the weekend. I would almost always have wine if going out for dinner, but would also regularly drink with dinner at home, or later in the evening, with just DH, or just me if I'm alone.

Yes I like the taste. It complements food better than anything else. It relaxes me slightly I guess. It doesn't make me feel groggy and headachey. Groggy would take more than a glass or two, and I never really get headaches from drink. I think that there are actually health benefits of moderate amounts of red wine www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265635#summary (not that this is why I drink, but I'm not worried by risks).

I'd rather have a glass of wine in the evening than snacks. I almost never eat anything after dinner (which is almost always just a main course at home, no dessert). I don't really "understand" why people eat crisps, chocolate etc in the evening. Except that people have different tastes.

I never got why people eat crisps and chocolate at night until I had kids and realised you don't get much joy from eating a bar of chocolate with children bouncing round, wanting share and announcing that they have to poo when you're mid bite
Otherpeoplesteens · 04/04/2022 12:34

Well, I like the taste. I come from a wine-producing culture and the idea of not having wine with dinner is as inconceivable as having toast without butter for breakfast here. It's not just a deeply ingrained cultural thing, but it is an important part of the taste of meals both of itself and in the way it complements flavours in the food too.

I also find that wine provides an import part of the energy content of my diet without causing bloating and constipation the way that many carbs do. If I have a couple of nights in a row without wine I don't feel any better at all. I feel cold and hungry the following day unless I compensate for it: I put masses of weight on the one time I tried 'Dry January.'

Stroopwaffle5000 · 04/04/2022 12:36

I agree OP. I don't understand having just a couple because it's not enough to even make me feel tipsy, and I don't particularly like the taste. I guess I'm just one of these people who drinks to get drunk 🤣 I don't drink very often though because I hate hangovers and would completely lose the next day which gives me mum guilt!

Beercrispsandnuts · 04/04/2022 12:37

I honestly don’t know how any one could drink nine bottles of that sweet dessert wine linked without puking their guts up.

Elphame · 04/04/2022 12:44

Because I like the taste.

Soft drinks are now full of sweetener and are just horrible. Not keen on plain water and I drink more than enough tea and coffee during the day to want a change by the evening.

Allsorts1 · 04/04/2022 12:56

I definitely feel one glass of wine! Especially if I’m alone, one glass is enough to make me feel very tipsy. I drink a couple of glasses in the evenings a few nights a week, not every night. Usually it’s a social thing though, me and DP are much more likely to drink if we are together vs if I’m home alone. For us I think it feels like a mini party to have a glass of wine on a Wednesday. I also love the taste! Having a tipple cheers me up. But I do like to follow the rule “only drink when you’re happy, never when you’re sad”.

I think alcohol effects people differently, probably related to genetics or body chemistry. Obviously in my case it’s hugely enjoyable as a feeling, so I do it. If drinking just made me sad like the OP, then I wouldn’t do it.

TargusEasting · 04/04/2022 12:58

What is it I’m missing?

Most probably a particular gene that would otherwise create even a mild addiction to the stuff?

Allsorts1 · 04/04/2022 13:03

@Foxglovesandlilacs86 if you like muscato you should try a sweet (not dry) Riesling - really lovely!

Nnique · 04/04/2022 13:17

I don’t drink to get drunk. Never have, not even when I was young (tbf when I was young I hardly drank at all).

A good wine is a treat - it’s drunk for the pleasure of drinking it, not toward any end other than enjoying it...A glass with dinner, then another glass or two over the evening.

Have cut down frequency (got a bit too used to having a few glasses a few times a week over lockdown) as I don’t feel my best on it anymore now that I’m in my mid-forties.

Foxglovesandlilacs86 · 04/04/2022 13:26

[quote Allsorts1]@Foxglovesandlilacs86 if you like muscato you should try a sweet (not dry) Riesling - really lovely![/quote]
I will have a look for that and give it a try thanks 😊

One that I remember from the place we went to was called Sauternes (I can’t remember how to spell it) it was paired with foie gras and it was the nicest thing I’ve ever eaten/drank. I did buy some from sainsburys ages ago but it wasn’t the same, it was really strong and sweet, DH drank the whole bottle!

Grammarmum · 04/04/2022 13:33

Oh who cares 🤷‍♀️I do two to three times a week because I enjoy it.
I personally cannot understand the love affair with coffee…it’s ok but can live without it !

ThreeRingCircus · 04/04/2022 13:37

OP this is very much an age and stage thing. I certainly wasn't relaxing at home with a glass of wine on a Friday evening when I was 25. If I wasn't out, then it was probably just a cup of tea. But as a 42 year old mother of young children who rarely goes out socially in the evenings, I definitely enjoy a glass of wine a couple of times a week. I usually have mine earlier, while I cook dinner- cook's drink!

I agree with this. OP, I didn't like wine when I was in my 20s either.... couldn't understand what all the fuss was about and I wouldn't drink at home, I'd either go out for drinks or if I was at home it would just be water or a cup of tea.

Fast forward to my 30s and with two young children I can't go out in the evenings like I used to. I maybe go out once every couple of months socially for drinks with friends. I also discovered that I really like red wine (I still dislike white) and found a type of red I enjoy. At home I'll only have one or maybe two glasses of wine and I definitely feel the effects but in terms of a gentle winding down, something I can sip over the evening and have some quiet, adult time. Two glasses makes me feel happy and relaxed but still with it enough to look after the DC in the night and not wake up with a headache.

When I was younger I was very all or nothing..... I was either at home not drinking or if I was out I got absolutely wasted. Now I can count on one hand the number of times I've been really drunk in the last 5 or so years as I cannot cope with hangovers any more, once you have children hangovers are just awful so I'll have far less to drink, but drink more regularly if that makes sense?

ReadyToMoveIt · 04/04/2022 13:37

@Grammarmum

Oh who cares 🤷‍♀️I do two to three times a week because I enjoy it. I personally cannot understand the love affair with coffee…it’s ok but can live without it !
I feel the same about tea. It’s just ‘meh’ to me. I don’t question why other people drink it, I just assume they have different tastes to me!