Damp Patch

I’m talking about January, obviously. And instead of going dry (oh come on, we’ve talked about this) I’m doing a dry-ish January. Damp, in other words. Obviously I’m cutting down on booze because, well, December. But I’m not cutting it out. Rather, I’m staying dry for most of the week and enjoying a glass of something lovely on other days. (By the way, this vacuum-sealed decanter* is a game-changer, keeping an opened bottle daisy-fresh for as long as you like). I’m also drinking a fabulous gin with just a smudge of alcohol with my tonic (it’s in this week’s recommendations) and if you want some homemade alcohol-free divine drink inspiration, I heartily recommend my friend and fellow wino Fiona Beckett’s new book, How to Drink Without Drinking. Dry definitely doesn’t have to be dull.

*Eto kindly offered me one of their decanters to test out. I opened two bottles (same wine) and kept one for a week in the bottle, the other in the Eto. Not only does it keep the wine perfectly fresh, it’s a gorgeous looking piece of kit. Normally the words ‘wine accessories’ cause an involuntary eye-roll but this is really good. (Full disclosure: they let me keep it – and that was before I wrote this).