Maureen Coleman talks to those who say that relaxing tipple marks the start of me-time It’s been a long, stressful day at the office. You flop down on the sofa, kick off your high heels, switch on the television and uncork a bottle of your favourite Merlot or Chablis.

This concept of ‘me time’ has been dubbed ‘wine o’clock’ — that special hour in the day when you can finally unwind with a glass of good wine. But women are no longer reserving ‘wine o’clock’ for a Friday evening. According to statistics an increasing number of middle-class, professional women are breaking the not-on-a-school-night rule and indulging in a mid-week tipple — or three.