My first idea, naturally, was alcohol free wine. However, after looking in a couple of supermarkets I couldn’t find any! I eventually found a bottle in Waitrose, but at £5.99! That’s more than I pay for normal wine. So instead I looked at the grape juice offerings and found that there was a white, rose and red versions from Schloer, and also own brand top of the range ones from both Tescos and Sainsburys.

Schloer’s own offerings are very nice. The rose is a little like a dry rose wine whereas the red is a bit sweeter (I’ve not tried the white yet). The red reminds me a little of red lambrusco (which is the only style of ‘red wine’ I’ll drink!).

Tesco Finest has all 3 flavours as well, and their white grape and elderflower is a very good replacement for white wine. Sainsburys do all 3 in their taste the difference range, and again their white grape and elderflower is quite nice although slightly sweeter than the Tesco version. However I found that their Rose version tasted a bit like bubblegum! However, a couple of drinks that Sainsburys does sell is their taste the difference lemonade and also an Elderflower Presse which is very light and refreshing. We’ve both taken a liking to the Lemonade however and it’s highly recommended!

All of these are still carbonated however they’re not extremely fizzy like your normal carbonated drinks such as coca Cola and Sprite/7UP.

The deal on this voucher however was to join the Virgin Wine Bank. This means you can choose to pay X amount per month (eg. £20) into your wine bank account. After 3 months of payment they’ll give you another X amount for free. So for the past three months I’ve had £20 go off my credit card and then once I had £60 in there they gave me another £20. So £80 to spend on wine (like a kid in a sweet shop!).

I ran through the wines available and chose 10 different cheap dry whites (no Chardonnay thanks!), oh and when I say cheap we’re taking £5-8. I duplicated one bottle as I liked the sound of it, and I also got a Rose to try. 12 bottles plus delivery came to just over £80. Can’t complain when it’s delivered to your door though!

However, while that’s all well and good here are the real facts.

1. I wouldn’t usually spend more than £3.50-4 on a bottle of wine. The cheapest on this deal has been £5 less 25% so £3.75.
2. I can’t really afford £20 a month to go out of my account/credit card.
3. I don’t drink enough to get through 12 bottles every three months.
4. I’ve now got over 20 bottles of wine and no space for half of them!

It’s a good deal if you want to go for slightly more expensive wines, or get a nice selection to keep for dinner parties or special times, but I tend to like light dry whites which are easy to drink without soda water and with or without food. Plus, these days you can pick up so many deals on wine in the local supermarkets or wine shops. Sure, you could sign up to just receive a mixed box of wine each quarter and you get to try new wines, but usually these are 50/50 red/white and by not drinking red I’d lose out, and most of their mixed boxes had 3 or 4 bottles of each, which means if you don’t like one particular wine you’re stuck with at least 2 more bottles! (I guess they’ll come in handy for presents!).

So Virgin Wines, a good idea, especially if you like both reds and whites and fancy saving up for a little splurge every quarter, or once a year (you don’t have to buy after each quarter, you could save up for Christmas), but if you’re a less serious wine drinker and just prefer a nice easy drink then stick with the offers in the supermarkets or Costco

On that note, I’m off to finish some Torres Vina Sol

Take a look at a Wine Review of it, or just take my word for it

Of course tomorrow morning will tell as to how I feel after drinking this tonight!

So what do I drink instead? At home my main tipple (besides water) is fresh apple juice and sparkling water. I used to drink Coppella Apple Juice but then we tried the Organic apple juice (from the Organic co.) and started to buy that as it’s a bit smoother than Coppella. This is a great drink which is definitely nice and refreshing in the summer. It’s not sweet once mixed with sparkling water and the bubbles give you that nice little kick.

If I’m out then I’m on either Orange or Apple juice plus sparkling water. I try not to touch lemonade or coca-cola whilst I’m out, besides the amount of sugar in them they usually also contain a preservative E211 (Sodium Benzoate) which used to make my Eczema flare up so I try to avoid it.

I’m trying it on recommendation from my Mum’s friend. She spent a few uncomfortable months with a bad rash on her sides and back and no amount of creams would clear it up. She then tried the vinegar and the rash cleared up. Once she stopped taking the vinegar, the rash started to come back. As a side effect she’s also lost a lot of weight! I like those side effects!!

So I picked up a bottle yesterday, Cyder Vinegar (yes it’s spelt correct) from Holland and Barratt for £1.49. Both Dave and I are trying this to see if it makes a difference as I’ve learnt that different things effect different people. To take it without eye watering moments I’m having a dessertspoon of the vinegar along with a teaspoon of runny honey, dissolved in hot water. It’ll warm me up the morning at least. Dave’s simply having it with Apple Juice (there goes all my Apple Juice!).

Of course the weightloss theory may be masked by the fact that we’re both on a healthier eating regime anyhow but if it helps with the skin then it can’t be bad in my books.

As daft as it may sound not many people can do a good hot chocolate so here’s my method which I think it on par with a hot chocolate from Starbucks or Costa Coffee…

Cadbury’s Hot Chocolate powder
Semi Skimmed or Full Milk
Microwave

Simply heat an almost full mug of milk in the microwave for about 2 minutes depending on the microwave. Then simply stir in 4 heaped teaspoons of powder and mix well (use a small whisk if you have one). The best addition to this is of course some piped fresh whipped cream on top. Artificial cream is just that, artificial, and it ruins the drink.

So stop with the artificial hot chocolate made up of artificial sweetners (bleh) and powdered skimmed milk (just add water) and get back to drinking real hot chocolate!

Incidentally in the summer you can mix some powder with milk, add some icecream and blend it all together – makes an amazing chocolate milkshake!

My parents first found this wine in Belgium, whilst visiting friends. They’d tried the red wine and the second time they visited they bought the white wine as well to try. It was an instant hit with me. It’s not as dry as I’m used to (usually a Soave or Frascati is my favourite) however to accompany a meal it’s a great wine, and once you’ve had a glass or two it definitely goes down easily!

But unfortunately we cannot find it anywhere. I only mention it now as my parents have 12 (well 11 now!) bottles of it left, bought for an occasion that didn’t go ahead, and tonight we opened the first of the last. I can’t even find this wine on the web anywhere. We’ve found the vinyard it comes from but that’s about as far as our searching has gotten us. Plus the fact that the wine was bought in a military base shop, so we don’t even know if it’s available in other parts of Belgium! It’s always the case when you find a good wine.

On a side note, I was in Waitrose last week and noticed their Wine list for 2006/2007 was available. About half an inch thick, this booklet is freely available, giving information on the many wines available from Waitrose. I’m sure the wines aren’t all exclusive to Waitrose so to me it’s a handy guide to keep and read, to give further information on the variety of wines around.

I don’t know if there has been any affect from this alteration but he seems happy to continue drinking it.

Now besides the report I can’t say much on the story however I’ve steered clear of Benzoate since my teenage years as my parents decided it was that which was triggering my Eczema. Benzoate is found in virtually every soft drink out there besides Coca Cola and 7UP, and definitely every diet drink out there. It’s also found in most Orange Squash. I’ve even found it in sun tan lotion and putting that on my skin (I didn’t realise or think to look at first) brought me up in a major rash.

The report does however reconfirm my believe that children and adults alike should be living off natural foods and drinks whenever possible. Hey, don’t think I’m saying 100% of the time as we all know that’s just not possible. I like a glass of wine and I use 7UP as a mixer in drinks. Unfortunately if I go out drinking I have to take whatever lemonade is on offer, but when you’re at home and you’ve got the power to control your food and what you take in, make it as natural as possible. Cook from scratch if you can, drink plenty of water and fresh fruit juice/smoothies.

McDonald’s has had such a bad time over the past couple of years they’re now selling salads and porridge! Perhaps if the drinks industry gets the same treatment they’ll start putting a bit more effort into the products they sell.