Wine in big bottles

[Deleted User]

Hello my mother buys big wine bottles and occasionally opens one and one glass becomes a whole bottle and waking up the house at 2 am having finished the whole bottle. Then regretting it next day.
If I drunk beer I wouldn't buy a 5 pint bottle, I'd buy 250/330ml bottles and have one at a time.
Why can't wine be the same so people have more chance of controlling intake, not finishing a whole bottle to themselves and waking the house up on their way to bed ?

fatbelly

You can buy wine in 250ml cans. Check your local supermarket.

jackieblack

Also in small bottles, usually 18.7 or 20 cl

MattMattMattUK

[Deleted User] said:

Hello my mother buys big wine bottles and occasionally opens one and one glass becomes a whole bottle and waking up the house at 2 am having finished the whole bottle. Then regretting it next day.
If I drunk beer I wouldn't buy a 5 pint bottle, I'd buy 250/330ml bottles and have one at a time.
Why can't wine be the same so people have more chance of controlling intake, not finishing a whole bottle to themselves and waking the house up on their way to bed ?

I cannot see how it is the fault of wine retailers that one of the sizes they sell their product in is standard 75cl bottles. Many products are sold in containers that are larger than a single use or portion, that does not mean it has to be used or consumed in one sitting.

If people have problems with controlling their intake of alcohol, or any other product, the solution is not have any of it around and to seek professional support, not blame packaging size.

beckstar1975

Many supermarkets have a decent range of cans/small bottles to try and get around this.

Though maybe your mum might be better trying abstinence for a bit first -though I realise you can't force anyone to. I used to get little bottles from Aldi when I used to drink that tasted fine and didn't cost much

BridgetTheCat

Most everyday wine these days comes in a screwcap bottle so that you can put it away for another day.

I think you have a bigger problem than just the bottle size. With me it’s crisps. I can’t have them in the house. If I open a ‘sharing size’ or a multipack I can’t stop until they’re done. If I buy 3 bags intending them to last 3 days, I will eat them all that day. Now my problem doesn’t affect anyone else, and only affects me in terms of my weight, but I do recognise it as a form of addiction - an inability to control myself where crisps are concerned. It sounds to me like your mother might have a similar problem with wine. You don’t have to be drunk all the time to have a problem with alcohol.

Emmia

[Deleted User] said:

Hello my mother buys big wine bottles and occasionally opens one and one glass becomes a whole bottle and waking up the house at 2 am having finished the whole bottle. Then regretting it next day.
If I drunk beer I wouldn't buy a 5 pint bottle, I'd buy 250/330ml bottles and have one at a time.
Why can't wine be the same so people have more chance of controlling intake, not finishing a whole bottle to themselves and waking the house up on their way to bed ?

When you say "big bottles" do you mean standard 750ml bottles or the more unusual 1.5l (or bigger options) that a few wines are available in? Or wine boxes which go up to 3L?

Smaller bottles/cans of wine are one option, and there's also alcohol free or low alcohol wine* - but there is fairly limited selection of both in comparison to 750ml bottles. Small bottles are likely to mean she just opens more of them, and the truth is, opening multiple cans/mini bottles is pretty easy - I doubt your mum is just swigging from the bottle, she's probably just refilling her glass.

The reality is, your mother needs to (a) realise herself her drinking is out of hand, and (b) really needs find a booze free alternative that she enjoys (tap water isn't going to cut it). For example there are good alcohol free "Gin" options now which make a great "G&T", and alcohol free beer is substantially better than it was even 5 years ago. 

*Depending on what she's drinking, alcohol free wine can be as expensive or more expensive than actual alcoholic wine. And of the alcohol free options white or rosé are definitely better than red. Sparkling is probably the best option overall - M&S do a good 0% pink or white "prosecco" called Fizzero for £6 a bottle. (The pink is better than the white IMO)

If possible you should remove all alcohol from the house, but that might just turn her into a secret drinker, and it depends on how others in the house, who can enjoy alcohol in moderation feel about not being able to have a glass of wine or beer themselves.

 It's also really important not to be judgemental, people drink for lots of reasons - they like the taste, the buzz or relaxed feeling, to numb pain or mask a deeper unhappiness... Try to be kind to your mum, lectures and finger wagging aren't the way forward.

soolin

[Deleted User] said:

Hello my mother buys big wine bottles and occasionally opens one and one glass becomes a whole bottle and waking up the house at 2 am having finished the whole bottle. Then regretting it next day.
If I drunk beer I wouldn't buy a 5 pint bottle, I'd buy 250/330ml bottles and have one at a time.
Why can't wine be the same so people have more chance of controlling intake, not finishing a whole bottle to themselves and waking the house up on their way to bed ?

I realise it has already been said but I don’t really understand the question or point being made at all. People control their own drinking , if your mother has issues then seeking help for her, or rather encouraging her to address her issues is the way forward, not demonising bottles of wine. 

I like wine, I regularly buy a crate to store to drink over a month or so, but I also often buy the 20cl small bottles of prosecco as I prefer it fresh and no one else in the house particularly likes it and I prefer it ‘fresh’ rather than try and keep a full size bottle for a few days. 

Bars of chocolate are my down fall, if I buy a bar I eat the lot, rather than a little every day. Do I blame the manufacturers for making bars too big and tempting me, or do I buy smaller bars or buy none at all? Just because I can’t control myself doesn’t mean I want ‘something’ done about it. 

x_raphael_xx

[Deleted User] said:

Hello my mother buys big wine bottles and occasionally opens one and one glass becomes a whole bottle and waking up the house at 2 am having finished the whole bottle. Then regretting it next day.
If I drunk beer I wouldn't buy a 5 pint bottle, I'd buy 250/330ml bottles and have one at a time.
Why can't wine be the same so people have more chance of controlling intake, not finishing a whole bottle to themselves and waking the house up on their way to bed ?

You are obviously able to control yourself. The issue isn't the size of the wine bottle.
People will regularly go out for a night out and have 5 pints or more. Does it matter if its in 5 bottles or one single bottle?

I can open a bottle of wine, have one glass and not touch the bottle again for a week.

Please seek help for your mother.

[Deleted User]

But she only does it occasionally maybe once a month and gets very offended at the mere mention of binging on wine! 

MattMattMattUK

[Deleted User] said:

But she only does it occasionally maybe once a month and gets very offended at the mere mention of binging on wine! 

To be fair drinking one bottle once a month is hardly binging.