Wine O’Clock? It’s Officially Red Wine on Wednesdays at 7pm!

According to new research commissioned by Cobevco, market leaders in specialist contract bottling, 6.55pm on a Wednesday is wine o’clock for workers across the UK:

“This is the precise time when adults are most likely to reach for the bottle to help them get through the working week. And that bottle will probably contain red.”

The study showed that Britain is still a nation of red wine lovers (37.5%), followed by white (36%), rosé (20%), sparkling (6%) and low alcohol wine (1%).

Men are the first to crack open a bottle during the week, having their first sip of wine at 6.40pm, with the ladies following almost half an hour later, at 7.07pm.

Most drink their wine with a meal or snack, although more than a third indulge in a tipple with no accompaniment.

The study also revealed that the nation prefers to drink their wine at home, with 75% saying this is where they enjoyed a glass or two of an evening. Less than one in ten head to their local pub.

Interestingly, the report reveals that men prefer to relax with a wine in complete solitude rather than socialise with their family, while most women say they prefer to drink with their husband or partner.

Despite drinking just 3.5 glasses a week on average, less than the recommended weekly allowance of alcohol, more than one in ten drinkers told researchers that they worry they drink too much. However, nearly 20% said they’d like to drink more.

Gillian Walters, Sales and Marketing Director at Cobevco, commented:

“These results give us a great insight into the nation’s drinking habits. As our working week becomes longer and stress takes its toll, people are turning to wine as a midweek treat and a bit of an escape – whether from office life or their family!

As widely predicted, more are forgoing an evening trip to the pub for a beverage or two in the house, as increased alcohol duty takes its effect on affordability, especially in the on trade.”

The study compares favourably to my own sales figures at Bordeaux-Undiscovered – I know you all love claret! But I’d be interested to know what day of the week and time you crack open a bottle?

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