It’s January and people all over the world are busy making (and possibly already breaking) New Year’s resolutions. For many, one of those will be a commitment to giving up alcohol for the month. As a wine professional, and all-around wine lover, my personal take is that the long-term benefits of one dry month are not worth the sacrifice. The better challenge relates to the old quality or quantity question: drink less all year by savoring good wines.
New Year’s resolutions often include commitments to lose weight, start going to the gym, quit smoking, or in some other way “get healthy.” It is perhaps one of the contributing factors to the rise in popularity of Alcohol Change UK’s “Dry January” campaign. It is true that even a brief break from alcohol can produce immediate health benefits. Those who have participated in Dry January in the past report:
Weight loss
Better sleep
Improved mood and energy levels
Increased physical activity due to more energy
Better diet due to a lower amount of empty calorie intake
This is all absolutely fantastic. But, can it be attributed solely to going dry for a month? Probably not. Because so many take the Dry January challenge as part of a larger health goal, research further shows that, in addition to giving up alcohol during the month, many make a conscious effort to increase their physical activity and improve their diet, focusing the month on health overall and not just being dry.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to discourage anyone seeking to drink less or otherwise get healthy! Both are great and should most certainly be encouraged and applauded. However, this is where we come back to my original point about alcohol consumption. If, after a dry period, you revert to your previous levels of alcohol consumption, did that dry month provide any long term benefits?
Personally, I believe that a better New Year’s resolution for all of us is to drink less continuously throughout the year, but to drink better, higher quality wine. This has its own benefits, some of which may seem counterintuitive:
Generally drinking less will lead to similar health benefits of weight loss, better sleep, etc.
Teaching yourself to drink more slowly will also teach you to revel in the wine you’re drinking. Start by going through the steps of wine tasting with every glass you pour: look, swirl, sniff, taste. It may sound geeky, but soon these actions become second nature and the process helps you more appreciate and enjoy your wine!
You’ll spend less money! I know, that’s the one that doesn’t seem to make much sense. How does spending more money per bottle help you save money? For one thing, you’re drinking wine more slowly, rather than mainlining cheap plonk, which means each bottle lasts longer.
You’re also getting higher quality wine which means you’re less likely to waste wine and/or not finish a bottle you decided wasn’t good. And remember, spending more for quality wine doesn’t mean dropping $100 for each bottle! You’d be surprised how much higher the quality is even in the $25-35 range than it is in the $10-20!
Whether or not you participate in Dry January this year, make the larger commitment to yourself to slow down throughout the year, allow yourself to spend a little more for a nicer product, and by savoring each sip, really get to know that bottle.
Of course Fine Turkish Wines has your back with a great selection of quality wines. It is in the name after all! Hop on over to see what the January Trio offer is and get started with that savoring.
Andrea Lemieux is an international wine expert with particular expertise in Turkish Wine. She is the author of The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine, the world's only comprehensive English language book on Turkish wine, and she is the founder of The Quirky Cork blog which is dedicated largely to Turkish wine.
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