To ask what wine drinkers switch to when pregnant?

[IMissVino]

I am pregnant with a very much wanted baby and over the moon about it.

It feels like a stupid thing to be thinking about, but a large glass of crisp cool white wine was one of the joys of Friday for me. If possible, I’d love to have some sort of substitute.

So, if anyone else is or has been in the same boat, would you please share your non-alcoholic beverages of choice? Nothing sweet, fruity or fizzy, please. Thank you!

Whatever you fancy but avoid alcohol.

If g&t were ever your thing, Tesco do ready mixed cans of alcohol free versions. I have them in a big class with ice and a nice garnish and it feels like a nice grown up drink, and not too sweet.

I always found the no-seco to have a really gross, farty smell and aftertaste. I've got bloody bottles of the stuff in the cupboards that friends gave me when I was pregnant but I hated the stuff.

I found a really nice alcohol free gin with tonic water that felt like a treat on a Friday night.

I’ve actually got Fevertree mixers in the house. Result! 😁

Following this with interest. I am after something more savoury to enjoy with meals.

I've tried loads of non-alcoholic wines and they all taste like sugary vinegar to me. I've had a bit more success with non alcoholic sparkling wines, but they are still too sweet for my taste and I prefer still wine with meals.

I do love a non alcoholic beer (the Brewdog ones are favourites), and the Gordon's 0% makes a very realistic gin and tonic, but some meals I just want wine with.

I like a soda water and bitters, although the 40% alcohol content scares me (even though I know it's only a few drops, and probably less alcoholic than an orange juice) and I'd prefer something still.

I'm also worried about the sugar content of soft / pretend alcoholic drinks, as the midwife told me you should cut down on sugar and refined carbs in pregnancy. Some googling came up with a recommendation of maximum 30g per day, which apparently I'd had by 10am in my decaf pumpkin spiced latte (having chosen that over a cinnamon swirl).

I’ve never really been a beer drinker, but I know lots of people rave about alcohol free beers, so maybe it’s time to try. Are they actually alcohol free, though? I read that they contain trace amounts and was frightened off.

I am probably giving strong first time mum paranoia vibes, I know. Sorry.

This isn’t really helpful, but cheers. 😂

I would just have a splash of wine in a glass of tonic or lemonade. Like the same amount of wine you’d use as squash. I’d have that once a week.

Ginger ale, which had the added bonus of soothing a lot of my nausea.

And ice cream with lemonade (like 7Up, not traditional stuff) poured over it. I'd stuff a tall glass full of vanilla ice cream (Mackie's is best) then fill up the gaps with lemonade, then top up the glass again when it was half empty. It is a delicious treat.

OOOOOHHHH!!!!

I didn’t like the alcohol free wines much but I did like alcohol free lagers so I mainly had those. Becks Blue has stuck with me and I still buy it now and DD is 3!

It's a long time since I was pregnant (15 years!) but I recall the pleasure of finding Becks Blue. Pretty sure it's alcohol free and it tasted good, refreshing and like a 'real' beer. I think most good quality lagers now have an alcohol free version. Maybe try Estrella or San Miguel?

Was it from Tesco? Someone suggested that upthread. Or a different non-alcoholic gin? I’m loving the idea of a non-alcoholic G&T.

Pom wonderful (pure pomegranate juice) diluted 1:3 with fizzy water, the closest to the "dry" refreshing effect of white wine I could find without overpowering the taste of meal. Good for you too. Doesn't work as well with still water for some reason though. Still drink buckets of the stuff 10 yrs on..

Also second non alcoholic beers - becks blue or ghost ship. Still drink an awful lot of them too 😄

Cranberry and sparkling water

There’s trace amounts of alcohol in lots of things. Even fruit juice! I wouldn’t worry about trace amounts in alcohol free beer.
goodstuffdrinks.com/blogs/the-good-stuff/how-much-alcohol-in-alcohol-free-drinks

Okay, so definitely checking out Becks Blue. Lots of recommendations!

Hello! 8 and a half month pregnant Muma here who loved wine more than life itself before getting pregnant 🤣

My suggestion is a bit wild, but bear with me. Try a non alcoholic beer.

I absolutely HATE beer but since being pregnant there is something about it that just hits the spot! It has a level of bitterness (that wine also has) that just really does it for me!

Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you!

Trace amounts of alcohol aren't an issue - something that's 0.5% ABV is about as alcoholic as fresh orange juice.

I'm a big fan of a nothing and tonic (plenty of ice, grapefruit/lime/lemon etc), or you can add bitters to them for a bit more pizzazz. I find a lot of the joy of alcohol is in the rituals (as long as the drink itself is nice once you drink it) so the more ritualistic the making of it is, the more it gives you that end of the week feeling. So for me that's the picking out of a really nice glass that I know I enjoy drinking from, the cracking of the ice cube tray, picking a couple of nice garnishes, maybe rosemary and grapefruit, or pink peppercorns and some frozen raspberries or whatever, followed by the crack of the can and sitting down to enjoy it.

Fentiman’s ginger beer ( 0.05% alcohol) is very refreshing and not sweet.

I liked Shloer but it's fizzy so probably not your thing but it's not overly sweet. The best alcohol free beer I found was Corona.

Nothing its just not as good :( currently 12 weeks with DBaby2 and really missing wine (especially as I hadn't had any for months before finding out haha)

Mostly tonic water with a slice of lime. Options were very limited in the 90's if like me you can't drink orange juice or caffeine. We were "permitted" to have a couple of units once or twice a week back then though so I would sometimes have a small wine (125) with the same amount of soda water to stretch it, still my drink of choice if I'm driving later. Wine was typically lower in alcohol too

Btw all the major gin manufacturers have alcohol free now, haven't tried them but dsd drinks them (she can't drink alcohol due to meds)

Nosecco, flavoured tonics, sparkling elderflower.