It’s that time again. Time to inspire me to spend more money on drinks, even though the WineArk cabinet can’t be closed properly and the Amex is maxed out.

So, what wine, beer, and other refreshing liquids have you been buying and drinking this month?

Even though the prices are now maddening, I couldn’t help dip into a little 2021 Ceretto Barbaresco because I love those wines and love drinking them. It’s just over two weeks until I’m back in Italy, so seeing a few more bottles with the DOCG neck tag thingie in the wine fridge feels like a proper warm-up.

In other news, there was also some of the new Frankland Estate Alter Weg Riesling 2024 to follow the last one and some 2022 Dr Loosen GGs, just because too much Riesling is never enough.

What about you? What have you been buying?

Meanwhile, with a big race on the recent calendar (where I came second on countback in veterans, edged by just 58 stupid seconds), I’ve probably drunk less in the past four weeks (but plenty of beer – including the exceptionally good Fox Friday ‘The Weight of Resin’ WCIPA).

Non-wine tangent on that point – can we talk about lager?

I’ve enjoyed more Australian craft examples in recent weeks than ever, with beers like the Dangerous Ales Crispy Boi reminding me that lager doesn’t need to be the lowest rung on the craft quality ladder.

Even the humble Four Pines ‘The Hill’ Lager (which is poured as the stadium beer of the Manly Sea Eagles NRL team) is a better-made beer than oceans of typical mainstream commercial lager.

Indeed, it’s a good time to be a beer drinker but also the worst of times to be a craft brewer trying to be profitable. Not that it’s any better in wine, where winemakers are still sitting on plenty of unsold 2024 whites (as the 2025 harvest rushes in) and older reds, particularly across Shiraz and Cabernet.

But enough industry gloom. What have you enjoyed drinking in the past month?