I’ve waited until now to start a-musing my way into a Riviera Woman blog for 2010 so you can all get that silly “Quit Drinking” New Year’s Resolution out of your system and get back to a more realistic lifestyle. Yes, I’ve seen it features as #6 in the Top 10 NYR compiled by Riviera Woman Editors and Readers, but I for one, am voting for moderation. Having pushed our own “festive drinking” boundary as far as 5th January as we were already booked to attend a friend’s “Epiph Party” that day, and knew that there would be fizz, wine with lunch and probably a “little something” with coffee whilst we embarked on a silly quiz (not that silly, actually – I was on the winning team and as competitive as anyone – we won a Toblerone each, which also slightly buggers up NYR #3), the New Year, New Decade, New Drinking regime had already lost us Week 1 of 52. However, I am a firm believer that if you make extreme statements and set inflexible goals to “stop, quit, finish” you are far more likely to stray. So, with my livelihood at stake here, I am urging and voting with my glass for drinking LESS but BETTER!

It is all far too easy here, and particularly in those far off heady summer days, to turn the ubiquitous Rosé tap on and well, errr, forget to turn it off! Likewise over Christmas, the Champagne is offered at every juncture – “well, it is Christmas, isn’t it?” Can’t really complain, as it was our first Festive season working with our Vilmart champagne, so one could argue that nearly every cork popped was in the line of duty…. And without asking for heartfelt sympathy, it is REALLY difficult in my line of work to curb the quaffing. However, we are making a concerted effort to drink LESS: too easy at lunchtime, when working from home and there is a half full bottle of an unsolicited wine sample, which might not even have been terribly exciting, but which you cannot quite yet demote to “cooking wine”, to suggest a glass with one’s lunchtime soup or sandwich will somehow make the dull lunch a little more civilised?   The terribly British habit of when the clock strikes six, it’s time for a G & T is also awfully difficult to stray from. But we are now mid way through the dreaded January (yes, it can get b****y cold here, too!) and so far, so good: only drinking on a day when either work or a social environment calls for it, and yes, having several days on the trot “sans alcool”. Then when there is a reason / excuse / cause and call for a glass, we’ve opted to up our game and have just one or two glasses of an altogether classier liquid. By drinking BETTER wine, you also open up your taste and memory bank to some heavenly new experiences. To really savour and taste a complex, multi-dimensional wine with real personality and let it linger in the mouth to extract the maximum enjoyment, in the knowledge that you are limiting the amount you will imbibe, actually heightens the pleasure experience and forces one to assess what’s in the glass and to make the most of it.

It is also remarkable just how much more value and better quality you can get from just upping your budget a bit.   If you would perhaps pick up a couple of bottles at 6€ each for quaffing over the weekend, spend say, 10€ on one better bottle.   Never having been good at maths, I cannot give you the exact percentages and sums, but believe me the quality of the wine is not a mere 40% (is that right?) better but will likely be 100% better than the 6€ bottle. Think about it, the fixed costs will remain virtually the same: the cost of the glass bottle, the cork, the label, the transport and cost of someone to put it on the shelf all remain the same, regardless of the value of the liquid. The main variable when you start to analyse things is the excellence & calibre of the fluid itself. So you’ve saved 2€ in store, you are helping preserve your liver, and you will be giving your taste-buds a far superior treat. On that basis, I have started to revamp our small but perfectly formed FineWineWorks wine list, so if experimenting with some new and unusual (and mostly non-French) wines appeals, take a look at our website later this month.

On a final note, and yes, the “backward” bit of this Blog’s title, is that shortly before Christmas, I was given a copy of an old Peter Dominic catalogue (some of you may dimly recall that wine merchants name from our UK High Streets of yesteryear), from 1963, which happens to be my birth year.   Apart from the incredibly nostalgic “my goodness, look what you could get for 7/6d” bit, which makes you sound like your own Grandmother, there is the fascinating insight into just how far the world of wine has developed in the last 4 or 5 decades! The list has almost as many pages devoted to Germany (all those Hocks and Rieslings) as it does to Burgundy; a huge section on Port, Sherry and Madeira and only 3 wines listed under “Australia”. None of the “down under” options would be allowed today as they plagiarise what are now protected terms in the EU, so Australian Burgundy is now no longer permitted as a wine name. Curiously there is a still popular Aussie wine which used to be called “Houghton’s White Burgundy”, which now, because of the labelling rules, is abbreviated to HWB and which also has no Chardonnay (the only white grape allowed in Burgundy) in the blend anyway – its mostly Verdelho! I digress – the last chapter of this fascinating little book gives some serving suggestions, recipes for Cups and Punches and intriguing little “tips” for hostesses of the era which include a suggestion as to how many ashtrays to have scattered around the room for your guests usage and to avoid the fag ends being stubbed out in the aspidistra!   Which brings us neatly round to the Riviera Woman NYR #4 to “Quit Smoking”: which is the one exception, I’m afraid to the “everything in moderation” rule!