][1]When is the best time of day to crack open a bottle of wine? Fergus Henderson of St John restaurant likes to have a glass of Madeira with a slice of seed cake for elevenses.
The 5pm Dining blog is quite taken with that idea but fear that it could lead to us being asleep before lunch. And we would hate to miss lunch.
The time of the first drink of the day usually depends what day of the week it is. A Sunday lunch without wine seems like a missed opportunity but otherwise daytime drinking seems to have fallen out of fashion.
Wine o’clock
A recent survey by the International Wine Challenge has investigated wine o’clock and discovered that thirsty Brits are most likely to crack open a bottle of wine at 7:33pm – this being the average time for the first glass of vino in the UK.
The survey also found that men were most likely to crack open a bottle first, with almost twice as many men (14%) as women (8%) taking their first sip before 6pm.
Age also proved to be an important factor when deciding when to reach for the Rioja. Over 65s, perhaps relishing the relaxed pace of retired life, reported the earliest average time for wine o’clock at 7:12pm. They were also three times more likely to indulge in a glass before 4pm.
Wee dram
Of course much of this depends on how well or badly the day is going. A wee dram at the end of an otherwise teetotal day seems like a fine reward for laying off the bottle.
If, on the other hand, your day has had you tearing clumps of bloodied hair from your head before so much as sniff of the mid-morning scone then you could be forgiven for seeing if the fridge contains the necessary for a stiff Bloody Mary.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off for a small sharpener.