Cadbury’s has been taken over by Kraft and I feel a little sad. I had a tour of Cadbury’s World a few years ago and two things have remained firmly etched in my mind: the smell that I could not shift for days and the origins of the business.

A Quaker, John Cadbury, opened his first shop in Birmingham’s Bull Street in 1824. Alongside tea and coffee, he sold drinking chocolate and cocoa as an alternative to alcohol which he believed was destroying people’s lives. If he could see the fine mess we seem to have got ourselves into almost 200 years later, I am not sure he would be impressed.

When I look at the Government’s policy on what is our country’s unbalanced relationship with alcohol I cannot help but wonder what sort of retail outlets Cadbury would be forced to open in 2010 to dissuade those that are intent on drinking to excess.

I am heartened to read of the mandatory licensing conditions that are to be brought in over the course of the year. If you are not already up to speed, here is an executive summary: l “Irresponsible” promotions such as “all you can drink for £10” and speed drinking competitions are to be banned l Free tap water to be made available l Compulsory ID checks on everyone who looks under 18 l A clear choice between a small and large glass of wine to be made available as with single and double spirit measures.

It is sensible stuff, but I find it astonishing that the supermarkets have once again escaped and are free to run their heavy discount promotions on alcohol in their stores.

I do not believe that the answer to our problems can be solved by imposing fixed minimal pricing but, equally, if we are to have any chance of generating a culture of responsible drinking, then allowing supermarkets to sell it, in some instances for less than the cost of bottled water, is downright barmy.

As long as that is possible, I can guarantee you that the drinking games will continue long into the night, if not in pubs and clubs, then in people’s own homes.

More enlightened thinking has resulted in at least one inspired sixth form college — Malvern St James School for Girls — to set up a wine tasting club, to teach its students about the fascinating world of wine.

I strongly agree with the school’s view that by showing wine with food, and encouraging the pupils to assess the wines’ qualities, they are making binge drinking less appealing. The school is able to run such a scheme because, whilst the law does not allow for alcohol to be sold to the under 18s, it is possible for young people to drink under adult supervision from the age of 15.

I do not have all the answers, but I really do worry that those of us in the drinks trade are all being tarred with the same brush.

There are many, like me, who want to see people enjoying and appreciating all that is great about wine, without damaging themselves or those around them. It is responsible wine-drinkers who will secure the future of the wine trade — not those that over-indulge.

You can contact Sarah through her website www.wine-talk.co.uk