Hi Notbrowneyed! Welcome to SR. I'm glad you found us.
Do all the reading you can on alcoholism and codependency. It helps to be educated.
It does sound like you already have some understanding of the situation in that this is something you can't really help with. Like it has been said above, it is a good idea for the user to have a good solid year of sobriety/recovery before getting in to a relationship.
Let us know how you get on. It is pretty tough being involved on any level with an addict/alcoholic.