Wine is a fermented product and its (rather happily) by-product is alcohol. If we are used to certain alcohol limits, our organs have adapted to synthesising the toxins that are in all our foods and drinks. However, this resistance doesn’t mean you can push yourself to the limit without consequences.

There is no magic cure for a hangover. While there are many anecdotal remedies, we all have different capacities and resistance to large amounts of alcohol.

The old adage of mixing grain and grape certainly applies. If you love wine, stick only to wine or grape-based spirits. Moving from grain (beer, gin, vodka or whisky) to a bottle of your favourite red with dinner, puts your liver under pressure.

One of the best ways to keep yourself tidy is to keep drinking as much water as you are drinking alcohol. Yes, this is boring and becomes less important as the night or day wears on and the drinks keep flowing.

Alcohol is a diuretic and will draw liquid from the body. When it’s all depleted, it asks the brain for any available water, hence the pounding head.

Drinking a “sports drink” or reydrating liquid that is usually given to convalescing children can set you right quite quickly.  

Try coconut water, which has five electrolytes in it that are present in our bloodstreams, fruit juice, sugary cola or caffeine to help dilate the blood vessels in the brain.