Red wine options

Get a stopper. It depends on taste really, but if you have never drunk any wine, you might be better starting with a light red like Pinot Noir.

At the moment I’m drinking Malbec, but I get largely what I fancy.

Well my very favourite is Camel Valley Sparkling, but I can’t justify drinking that for every day??

wildswan There’s a gadget called Vacu Vin that helps preserve leftover wine. It’s a rubber bung with a valve and it comes with a pump to remove the air in the bottle. Dead easy to use - and it works! I think it’s about £9.00.

I don’t know about medical purposes though.

A glass a day will be good I would have thought.

My mother used to have a glass a wine a day (plus Sherry or gin) and lived to 101.

If you only want one glass a day, a wine box is ideal - the unused wine stays fresh. Bottled wine starts to change as soon as you open the bottle, and after 6ays, the last glass would be quite sour.

You might like to read this about the conflicting research results on drinking wine for health:

www.bbc.com/future/article/20191021-is-wine-good-for-you

You can also get mini bottles of wine which hold enough for just one glass.

If you want a glass and you feel it will do you good then have it and b#g#r the research. Pinotage, Shiraz and Malbec are my favouites. If it has a screw top rather than a cork it should be ok.

I like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon a couple of glasses to help me sleep. That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it.

My point about posting the research link is that the OP says she has never bothered about drinking alcohol and doesn't particularly like it. Why do something you don't enjoy for health benefits that aren't proven.

I'm not sure I'd recommend drinking a glass a day for health reasons although I did hear of one cardiologist who did prescribe a glass a day for his hospital patients!

Either a box or you could buy the small bottles - I know that Tesco do 187cl bottles of wines, usually 4 for the price of 3.

Tesco is cheaper than other outlets although other outlets are available.

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/285300825

What about drinking purple grape juice instead, especially if you don't much like wine?

It has the same benefits as red wine.

You might find that you like it after a glass of cabernet sauvignon. If you don’t like it - don’t bother - have a couple of brazil nuts or some blueberries if you want something healthy.

I was going to suggest the same Callistemon or get non- alcoholic wine. New research shows there is no safe limit for wine, in fact even small amounts are bad for you.

Years ago my grandmother suffered from anaemia and when she was in hospital for several weeks she was prescribed a bottle of Guinness or Stout every evening with her meal. The consultant said she should continue to have this when she went home - so one of my uncles did an order with the nearest pub and they delivered her seven bottles every week and he settled up with them when he visited her She was very happy with her prescription!

We've had a few bottles of this:
www.aldi.co.uk/estevez-chilean-malbec/p/710228468601200

You can freeze wine. My mother used to have a glass with her main meal (usually evening except on Bridge night), keep enough for the next time and freeze the rest, probably two servings, in plastic milk bottles. Squeeze the sides before putting the cap on to allow for expansion. There might be a bit of sediment, but it's harmless. Wine helped her to sleep. Or it might have been the whisky that often followed it. Anyway, she was very fit for most of her 94 years.

Wine often goes to my head (or maybe, in reality, my liver) if I drink it on its own. Food reduces the hit!

I have couple glasses red wine every day , not only because I like it but I find it’s nice way to relax for health reasons to .
I tend to go for Chile or South African wines , but most wines are just fine . A 70cl bottle holds 4 glasses so at one a day will only last 4 days anyway so no worries about it going off . Buying the small bottles is rather expensive in comparison.

wildswan are you taking any tablets? If so make sure it is safe to drink wine whilst on them .

If you’re worried about spoiling get a wine box and see if it suits you, don’t buy the cheapest, try merlot first if you have not been a regular wine drinker.

I fear the health benefits may be greatly exaggerated but if it is the relaxing effects, and you enjoy it, why not?
I certainly wouldn’t suggest you drink such an overpriced (tax) drink if you didn’t enjoy it.

Welshwife years ago when I first started work as a buyer in the NHS we had a contract with a local brewery for Guinness or Milk Stout. My grandmother was lucky to survive cancer with early radiotherapy treatment in the early 50’s but lost a lot of weight and Guinness was prescribed. She had one every day from then on.

There used to be tonic red wines - Wincarnis and Sanatogen. You can still get them I believe. I think they have iron in.

You get a large glass full out of the individual mini bottles of wine which are readily available at supermarkets. I used to get them for mil in the care home.

Waitrose do their own Italian merlot which is very pleasant and smooth for only £4.99 a bottle so wouldn’t matter if you ditched some, but you can always use any spare for cooking.

I can remember being given a bottle of Guiness or Mackeson each day with my evening meal when in the maternity home after the birth of my son in 1978. One of the perks of being a breast feeding mum!
At one point, all of us in our ward were having problems feeding our babies. My father, a pub landlord, gave me a crate of Guiness which I stashed under my bed and shared with the other mums.
A jolly time was had by all. ?

Regarding having a glass of wine daily, I think a little tipple does no harm at our age. Everything in moderation.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I had quite forgotten about the bottle of stout we were presented with each evening after childbirth!! I remember swallowing it down with great reluctance and the lady in the next bed often ended up with half mine too.

I will explore all the options - maybe have to try a bottle of each of your suggestions to see which I prefer!

Wildswan16 happy testing but don’t get too merry!