We’re almost a week into 2011 and I wonder how the resolutions are coming along. Chocolate successfully banished from the cupboards? Five workouts at the gym completed? And, not a drop of alcohol has passed your lips since the weekend?

The excesses of the festivities behind us, a ‘new-look’ wine column to celebrate, and with more than a nod to restraint, I am taking the opportunity to celebrate the half (37.5cl) bottle this week.

I have long wondered at the limited selection of half-bottles on our shelves and on restaurant wine lists.

I love them for Eurostar, or indeed any picnics, and for those evenings when I am home alone, fancy a glass and do not want to be faced with a full-sized bottle steadily tiring over the course of a few days.

They are equally brilliant when you are dining à deux and want to sample new wines with each course and, just as serving your dinner on a smaller plate helps you to eat less, so too a 37.5cl bottle will help keep your consumption down.

There are downsides. The choice is typically less exciting, due mostly to the lower consumer demand and the correspondingly higher production costs for the winemaker.

Also – with the exception of sweet wines – half bottles do not really lend themselves to any sort of mid- or long-term cellaring and I would recommend you buy when you know you are going to open them. I would also suggest you take a good look at the vintages, especially at the easy-drinking end of things; freshness and youth is key.

For me, the benefits still outweigh the downsides, and I think it is worth tackling the still woeful assistance wine sellers give you to find the smaller bottles.

The Wine Society (www.thewinesociety.com) is an excellent place to start with 30-odd halves, covering a diverse range of styles.

The very talented Jean-Marc Brocard makes the Society’s own-label Chablis and a half bottle will set you back £5.95.

Again, under the society’s own-label comes the very ripe and enjoyable Côtes du Rhône red — not bad at all at £3.95.

A little more special (we all know great things can come in small packages!) is the Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2008 (£9.50) with its sweet, spicy, juicy red fruits.

Another wine merchant with a reasonably pro-active approach to sourcing quality halves is Tanners (www.tanners-wines.co.uk).

The selection includes the ever-reliable, fruit-driven Chilean Concha y Toro Chardonnay 2010 at £3.40. The red, Merlot-dominated Château Trocard (£5.80) from Bordeaux is also worth a try.

Meantime, good luck with the resolutions.

To learn more about Sarah and to sign up for her wine postcards, please go to www.wine-talk.co.uk