Daily Confessional: As we’re covering New Year’s resolutions or intentions along with wine trends, there’s no better time than now to explore the “Dry January” trend and a few modifications! NOTE: I’m not here to promote or demote the trend, just explore it as I think through my own journey and wine experiences. Yes, I’ve participated in Dry January – and, yes, I actually made it! (Ok must confess I made it until 29 January as I had a huge event to attend and who doesn’t want to participate in Cheering with a glass of bubbles?! Besides, February has 28 days so technically, I made it a whole month – right?!!!).
What did I learn? How did I feel? While I cannot remember details (this was 2019 and my brain has been through a few challenges in the meantime), I did feel a sense of accomplishment and was proud of myself for making it as far as I did. Do I remember feeling magically healthy and did I have complete clarity and serenity? No, nothing extreme, but it did bring me to realize one key, and very important fact about wine – it’s for enjoyment, for celebration, to make a food pairing sing and to express the soul of the wine maker (we’ll get to that in another blog!). Wine is a tour guide along a journey of exploration, not a train conductor to a hang over! Oddly, this experience coincides with the formal launch of my wine education journey – hadn’t thought about that!
So where am I going with all of this and how does the title tie into my babble? As “Dry” in wine-speak translates a few ways, I’m going to suggest a few modifications of “Dry January” as suggested in the title! 1). Dry – II fully support anyone who wants to participate in Dry January, heck Dry 2022 even, why not?! This is the most literal option driven by full abstinence from all variants of alcohol; 2). “Off-Dry January” where I will focus on a moderation method focusing on exploration of new wines, regions and / or styles and be fully willing to cork a bottle after a glass versus drinking every last drop (might i recommend trying RePour stoppers? (Www.RePour.com); and 3) “Brut Dry January” which I’m defining as setting very rigid guidelines on your alcohol consumption such as limiting to a specific number of drinks only on specified days (some might call this brut-al reinforcement!
Regardless of which you choose, or if you choose not to do any of the above, I highly encourage you to use January to educate, learn and explore the world of wine whether through a book or a bottle! I hope to recruit a few more wine nerds along the way!
Recent Instagram Post (apologies cannot remember the author!):
“I’m participating in Dry January – dry wines only!”
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DOMSOM.us, Insta: @gettingourdomsom #2022trends #dryjanuary
