Before the hullabaloo of 2025 begins, let me recommend a few good wines to make sure you do not feel tempted to follow the Dry January crowd. The first one is Gotas de Mar, a magnificent Godello that surprised us when we tried it at home (17 euros). We did not expect to enjoy so much a white from Ribeiro, but there is more than meets the eye: a perfect balance of fruit and minerals, with a long finish like all Galician farewells.

The second wine is De Paula, a new red from Manchuela, Albacete, made with Monastrell grapes (8 euros). An amazing discovery, beautifully made, a wine that reconnected me with lazy summer days in the Mediterranean.

My third recommendation is an old friend, Tobia cuvee, from Cuzcurrita del Rio, Rioja (8 euros). A humble red that combines tempranillo and graciano grapes from different plots with wonderful results. It made me thought of the journey through life, where one mingles together experiences, ambitions, desires and setbacks, with the hope of somehow finding balance, fulfillment and wisdom. The Japanese poet Katsushika Hokusai captured well the essence of this human struggle in a beautiful haiku:

I write, erase, rewrite

Erase again, and then

A poppy blooms.