What a waste of wine!

According to figures collated for WRAP, the Waste & Resource Action Programme, British households are pouring £470 million worth of wine down the plughole every year. The figures are based on data from diaries kept by 319 households to record wasted food and drink items. The most wasted drink is milk followed by fizzy soft drinks and fruit juices. Rather than pouring away unfinished wine, WRAP, which is funded by the Government, is urging people to freeze it and use it in cooking sauces and casseroles as part of the campaign to reduce the nation's carbon footprint. Currently 1.8 million tonnes of food and drink in UK homes is wasted.

A WRAP spokeswoman said that the organisation was not suggesting that consumers should drink wine that had been defrosted, but said that leftovers could easily be used for cooking. Many cooks pour dregs from bottles into ice cube trays so they can easily freeze them for use in sauces.