I'm honestly no expert on this subject but I do know that there are plenty of organisations out in the states that can help you out. I know from my experience that drinking more is usually linked to some underlying life stress. I find that I don't usually want a drink after some physical activity in an evening, so perhaps you could exercise more on later in the day? It may also be worth trying to cut-down first rather than abstaining as such a drastic change could result in failure and that will only make you feel worse. Hopefully other users can give some solid advice, but it sounds like you yourself believe you have an issue with alcohol so some formal help would be useful. Good luck and don't beat yourself up if you don't crack it straight-away!
Hey badger. I think a lot of my dependency has a lot to do with social anxiety and general moodiness. But exercising later in the day is good advice -- I find that after I swim laps at the gym I generally can't be bothered. I shall give this a try! Regarding attending some sort of support group, well, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have the balls to show up to that sort of thing without having a glass of wine first, which pretty much defeats the purpose. Thanks for the response. You're okay for a Hufflepuff. :)