Why a Not-So-Dry January Could be the Better Option

January is traditionally a time of sacrifice and penance for all our over-indulgences in December, and in recent years, the concept of Dry January has taken hold. Going alcohol free for the first month of the year seems to make sense considering the likelihood of increased Christmas consumption, but does it really do us any good? And what might be a better alternative if we want to start the year with healthier habits?

The binge-diet cycle isn’t really recommended when it comes to food, so it shouldn’t necessarily be a pattern we follow for drink either. Cutting it out completely might make you crave it more, so try a different tack by drinking less, but choosing your drink more wisely – this could not only help you health-wise, but aid your bank balance and expand your wine knowledge too. Here are a few ways buying better quality wine using online savings such as Waitrose Cellar voucher codes can help.

Spend More to Save More

Advising you spend more money on wine might seem like an odd recommendation, but hear us out. We’re not saying you should blow your budget on expensive wines every day of the year, but rather think about where you’re going to spend the money you do allocate for it. Choosing a bottle that is one or two pounds more expensive can be hugely rewarding – the quality of the wine improves hugely (even if you’re just spending an extra quid), it’s much less likely to contain the nasties that make your hangover that much worse and you get to try something you might otherwise pass up. Because if you’re going to be drinking less wine, you might as well make it better wine, right?

Lots of well-known wine labels may have the lure of familiarity but bottles from lesser-known producers and regions often prove much better value for money, and if you order with specialists such as From Vineyards Direct you can benefit from their knowledge as well as their range. 

January Prices

From a purely financial point of view, January is, in fact, the very best time of year to buy wine because of all those clearance prices. Whether you’re thinking about cutting back or still cutting it out altogether, there’s no reason why you can’t take advantage of a good price on a decent bottle. For example, Waitrose Cellar are offering up to a 1/3 off in their sale right now, and even though they’re a large supermarket, they go out of their way to hunt down some interesting wines that you might not have heard of before. Marks and Spencer is also an unlikely, but very good source of great wine and using Marks and Spencer can save you up to 25% in their January wine sale.

Ordering your wine online in general can prove much better value than popping to the local off-licence thanks to the availability of good case prices and offers. All you have to do is choose wisely and resist temptation once you’re sufficiently stocked up. A tough ask, we know…

If you change your wine buying habits now by drinking less, but spending your money on better bottles, this is a move you can take with you throughout the rest of the year and beyond. Maybe 2017 is the year we can make Dry January obsolete for good.

By Anna Scott - Writer for My Favourite Voucher Codes. 2nd January 2017.