After Dryuary 2022

What is the first bottle you intend to open after your dry Jan 2022?

All of them

JF

Probably one of the bottles I’ve accumulated while abstaining, such as:

• '97 Thunder Mountain Bates Ranch or Miller Vineyard
• '95 or '05 Grand-Puy-Lacoste
• '01 Magdelaine

That said, I figure I have the next 15 days to waffle

Since I’ve been drinking mostly dry and off-dry riesling this month, a sweet riesling

Probably a 2002 Leflaive ‘Chevalier Montrachet’. 50/50 it’s PremOx’d!

Damp February.

We usually do keto for 2-3 months, starting with no wine for 6 weeks, then mostly dry but incorporating some planned wine treats for the remainder of the time.

I’m seriously trying to lose weight, and it’s going to take longer than January. I have a birthday in early February, and we’ve made dinner plans. That will end Dryuary for me. So that will be a cheat day for me, then right back at it. Not sure when I will open a bottle, nor do I know what it will be. We have plans to go to Palm Springs the end of March, so it’s a personal contest to see how much I can lose before then.

I’m thinking February will still be much less drinking for me than normal or at least much less than Nov & Dec. We opened 293 bottles in 2021, so that is 24.4 per month. Staying under 20, with a goal of 15 for Feb.

I think I am going with something very reasonable for my first wine back though. Something sub $17, to help keep modest expectations thereafter. Likely one of these below

2015 Vinos Valtuille Pago de Valdoneje Roble (mencia)
2017 Diez-Caballero Crianza (tempranillo)
2017 Domaine de l’Amandine Cotes du Rhone Villages Seguret (60% Syrah, 40% Grenache)
2016 Domaine de la Combe Dieu Rasteau (GSM)
2010 Cosimo Taurino Salice Salentino Riserva (80% Negroamaro, 20% Malvasia)
2016 Castelli del Grevepesa Chianti Classico Riserva Clemente VII (sangiovese)
2019 Taboadella Vinhos Tinto Villae (40% Tinta Roriz, 20% Jaen, 20% Tinta Pinheira, 10% Touriga Nacional, 10% Alfrocheiro)

Seriously!

It’s spelled Trockenuary!

Wish I’d known about this…

Since our baby turned 2 yesterday, I took a one day hiatus and opened a Roederer Estate LD 2003 Lermitage. Definitely the best I’ve ever had from them.

In February I have two lined up for sure:
1999 Roblet Monnot Volnay Taillepieds
2019 Phillips Hill Morning Dew PN

Congratulations. It goes progressively down hill from here… And then they become teenagers with cars.

Why is Dryuary even a thing? Just to prove that you can? Why bother?

Many people increase their consumption of alcohol (and food) during the holidays in November and December, so a month-long break can help kick-start healthier habits and reduce excess weight (and other harmful health problems) from overindulgence.

Also, cutting out alcohol for even a month can make a noticeable difference in your health. Studies have shown that regular drinkers who abstained from alcohol for 30 days slept better, had more energy, lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduced cancer-related proteins in their blood.

For me it is a mixture of a few things.

1. remind myself that I can
2. Nov & Dec are by far the months we drink the most. So Jan is a great opportunity to recalibrate. I occasionally have done it on other months though.
3. I look at drinking my wine as the expensing side and purchasing like buying assets, so generally there needs to be some balance to the over expensing done in Nov/ Dec.
4. humans didn’t evolve for an easy lifestyle. The environment our DNA evolved for was varying and far from easy. So occasionally I do intermittent fasting, or even a complete fast for a short time. I take a few weeks off of caffeine every once in awhile as well. It is amazing how little is needed to get you wired if you haven’t had any in 3 weeks.
5. this year it is helpful for the healing of some injuries I have from soccer.
6. body fat control.

To get all the way to the bottom of it… I and about 99% of people on this board drink more than we should (cue the indignation).

Both a physical and mental reset to say…ok wine is great AND I can enjoy it at far greater intervals/less volume!

First event on the calendar is a make-up Christmas Eve get together. I am going to open some recent arrivals that have been taunting me this month including 2 magnums of Champagne to start, ‘08 DP and ‘08 Comtes, and a bottle of ‘90 GPL and ‘96 Montrose with dinner.

Don’t know what will be first, but we have a few one the list to open in February:

2012 Booker Remnant
2017 SQN Eleven Confessions Syrah (V-Day wine)
2018 Saxum JBV White
2020 Arrowhead Vineyard Cab Franc Icewine

Our first time doing Dryuary. Definitely slept better this month (even with two kids <5) and generally feel more alert. Been easier than I thought to abstain, and probably will reduce 2-3 bottles a week from our prior consumption of 3-4. Of course, getting Saxum, Bryant, and SQN allocations within 8 days of each other didn’t help…