LATE-NIGHT confessions are always best avoided – especially if the person you're talking to works as a doctor treating alcohol dependency.
He and I were discussing an article a fellow wine writer had recently published, in which he admitted downing six bottles of wine a week. He thought that, since he had a relatively healthy lifestyle, took regular exercise, didn't smoke and ate well,
there was nothing to worry about. I was inclined to agree, despite knowing that I personally couldn't function properly if I drank that much. I have read Professor Roger Corder's The Wine Diet and Dr Thomas Stuttaford's excellent To Your Good Health: The Wise Drinker's Guide, both of which recommend drinking modest amounts of red wine every day.
In particular, Corder has found that red wine halts the action of endothelin-1, a key molecule connected with coronary heart disease. By drinking two to three small glasses of wine high in procyanidins each day, we can improve the function of the linings of blood vessels and ward off heart disease, strokes and diabetes.
It was at this point in the conversation that my doctor friend became very serious indeed. His argument was that it was just this sort of recommendation that could lead to an epidemic of cirrhosis of the liver in 15 to 20 years' time. The British love to drink, and in the last ten years we have drunk more alcohol than ever before. We have adopted the Continental habit of drinking wine with every meal, as opposed to just on special occasions. What we have failed to do is give up our Northern European habit of bingeing on alcohol at the weekend as well. In effect, we are getting the worst of both worlds. My friend tells me that the average age of the patients he is treating for liver problems is getting lower and that they are coming from every social class and background. As he says, "If you'd ever had to treat someone with the DTs (Delirium tremens, caused by alcohol withdrawal], Will, you would never drink again."
One of the new problems we face, as I have often mentioned in this column, is the high percentage of alcohol now found in wine. Two to three glasses of red wine at 15% alcohol is far too much. For the record, my doctor friend says three nights off each week is a minimum, and that you should avoid binge drinking at all costs.
As regular readers will know, February is the one month of the year during which I drink no alcohol at all. I still sniff, swirl, taste and spit, but not a drop is swallowed. It's a practice I picked up from Edward Demery, chairman of my previous employer, wine merchant Justerini & Brooks. Demery's theory is that, while it's good to spend a month on the wagon each year, January, which is most people's choice, is just far too busy for abstinence.
For those who are falling off the wagon after the New Year's detox, here are three light, bright and relatively low-alcohol white wines to enjoy during February. They are on the pricey side, which is no bad thing – if we went back to drinking wine only on high days and holidays, perhaps we would learn to savour it a little bit more.
2007 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese, Dönnhoff, Nahe, Germany, 8.5%, £20A white wine you could stick in your cellar and enjoy for at least 15 years. It has an oily, honeyed feel with a plump, ripe, herbaceous character and stunning purity of fruit. It's simply sensational.
2007 Riesling Kabinett, Robert Weil, Rheingau, Germany, 9%, £11Bursting with ripe passionfruit flavours, this is heavily perfumed on the nose with plenty of zip and racing, crisp acidity. A semi-sweet wine, it would match well with a mild Thai green curry.
2007 Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett, Dr Loosen, Mosel, Germany, 8%, £12 A magical, exotic nose with an inviting petrol and wet-slate character. The palate has a zippy minerality with a refreshing clean acidity and a tropical, zesty finish. A great partner for blue cheese.
Stockists: Berry Bros & Rudd (0870 900 4300, www.bbr.com); Howard Ripley (020 8877 3065,
www.howardripley.com); Justerini & Brooks, Edinburgh (0131 226 4202,
www.justerinis.com); Waitrose (
www.waitrose.com)
