Clare Foges, now 45, describes her personal transition from a heavy drinker in her youth to someone who consumes fewer than ten units of alcohol annually. She defends podcaster Steven Bartlett's claim that moderate drinking disrupts health, arguing that the subsequent public backlash reveals a deep-seated cultural obsession with alcohol in Britain.

From double vodkas to fewer than ten units a year

The lifestyle shift described by Clare Foges represents a total reversal of her habits during her 20s and early 30s. According to the account by Clare Foges, her previous routine included pre-dinner double vodkas and bottles of prosecco, often consuming ten units in a singlle evening. Today, Foges limits herself to less than ten units over an entire year, occasionally indulging in two glasses of wine or a single kir royale during the holiday season.

This transition was driven by a realization that the biological cost of drinking increases with age. Foges notes that while she once enjoyed the "last one on the dancefloor" lifestyle, she now experiences "lower-case hangovers"—a state of sluggishness and mental fog—after as little as two glasses of wine. This personal evolution mirrors a growing trend of "sober curiosity" where individuals prioritize cognitive clarity over social lubrication.

Steven Bartlett's 'three-day ruin' and the celebrity backlash

The conversation around alcohol consumption intensified following comments from Diary of a CEO podcaster Steven Bartlett. As reported in the piece, Bartlett claimed that a couple of glasses of wine could ruin three days of his life by disrupting his sleep, messing up his dopamine and cortisol systems, and negatively impacting his gym performance—metrics he tracked via a Whoop wearable device.

Bartlett's focus on self-optimization sparked a wave of criticism from high-profile figures. Influencer Vogue Williams suggested Bartlett was not truly "living his life," while broadcaster Fearne Cotton joked that she sometimes podcasts better while hungover. Other critics, including Julia Bradbury and BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James, framed Bartlett's approach as joyless or "wimpy," illustrating a sharp divide between the "optimization" crowd and those who view alcohol as essential to a lived experience.

The 'vino-signalling' culture of the British pub

The aggressive reaction to Steven Bartlett's claims points to a broader sociological phenomenon that Foges terms "vino-signalling ." This behavior involves using a disdain for sobriety to signal that one is "a jolly good laugh" and socially flexible. In the United Kingdom, the ability to enjoy a drink is often conflated with personality and trustworthiness, to the extent that potential prime ministers are frequently judged on whether they are someone the public would "go for a pint with."

This cultural framework treats sobriety not as a health choice, but as a marker of being a "joyless control freak." By equating drinking with being "British," the culture effectively stigmatizes those who opt out, creating a social environment where admitting that alcohol impairs productivity is seen as a personal failing rather than a physiological fact.

Menopause and the biological cost of a Pinot Grigio

Beyond the social pressure, there is a biological component to the declining tolerance experienced by middle-aged women. Foges suggests that the onset of menopause can slow the body's ability to metabolize alcohol, making the "trade-offs" of a few glasses of wine far more severe than they were in one's twenties.. This biological shift often forces a reckoning with the actual cost of a "brief buzz."

However, several questions remain regarding the scale of this shift. it is unclear if the trend toward near-abstinence is a widespread movement among 40-something women or limited to a specific socio-economic circle focused on wellness. additionally, while Foges cites hormonal changes as a factor, the source does not provide medical data to quantify exactly how menopause alters alcohol metabolism, leaving the biological claim as an anecdotal observation rather than a clinical certainty.