Is there such a thing as a nice alcohol-free red wine?

[rainbowsandmagpies]

Hi all, I'm 8ish weeks pregnant and the festive season has me craving a glass of red wine. Now, I'm obviously not going to tuck into the real stuff, but has anyone come across a half decent non-alcholic red wine?

No, no there isn't. Alcohol-free wine tastes like ass, I'm sorry to say (take that from a woman who is 18 months sober). You're better off with alcohol-free gins, beers, or proseccos - they all at least mimic the taste of alcohol to some extent as long as they're very well chilled.

I've been having sniffs off my husband's wine when he has a glass to help we went to a Christmas market last weekend and the smell of mulled wine was so cruel on my senses ha.

Don't try non-alcoholic wine... it's just not the same. The 0% alcoholic beer is ok but i have it with lemonade for a shady. Just check labels as some say "alcohol free" and will have 0.05%. I think that's fine but Id rather it be completely zero.

I found the sainsburys nom-alcoholic red was actually quite drinkable. Not as good as the real thing of course but enough to take the edge off 😂

There are two types of ‘non-alcoholic wine’. The first has never been alcoholic and is basically raw grape juice with added spices. This stuff is awful.
The new generation of non-alcoholic wine is being made in the same way as decaf coffee, I.e. created as normal wine and then having the alcohol removed. This stuff is much better. For reds, McGuigan Zero is quite drinkable. For a white, Hardys Chardonnay is very drinkable

Not if you want something that tastes like red wine. Zero beer is ok. The alcohol free Martini Vibrante is absolutely excellent. With tonic it makes for a lovely dry drink which might scratch your red wine itch.

I rate Torres Natureo as the best I’ve tried and I’ve tried a lot.

No. I tried all sorts and the reds are awful. I ended up just having a very small glass every now and again if I wanted red - although to be honest I didn’t really feel like red.

I’m now 4 months PP and red wine now gives me such a headache 😭 I used to love red but it just doesn’t agree with me anymore.

I tried a few and gave up. All awful :( sorry

The red McGuigan Zero is tolerable but doesn't really mimic red wine. Their white and rosé offerings are better. I've got a Jacob's Creek red in my 'wine' rack, but haven't tried it yet.

If you like mulled wine Holland and Barrett do a non alc one I quite like, though it is quite syrupy but a good alternative.
Not found a good red wine yet but I’m keeping an eye on this page for recommendations!
If you like beer, there’s a company called Big Drop who do a big selection of really good non alcoholic beer (well, 0.5%, so still wouldn’t indulge in lots but the odd one is ok for social occasions IMO). Even my DP is very happy to substitute the real stuff for the big drop beers.

I'll echo the posters above and say that alcohol free wine tends to be rubbish.

I will say, though, that 'mulled punch'/alcohol free mulled wine is worth seeking out (although I still add extra mulling spices when I heat it)!

There is a non-alcoholic mulled punch in the Lidl range at the moment.

OK, I'll do some experimenting but keep my expectations low! I guess if it tastes horrible on its own I can always mull it or cook with it. It's funny, I'm not really a big drinker - might have a drink once every fortnight or something when not pregnant, but I can't stop thinking about red wine!

I recently tried a range of non alcoholic versions of various types of beer, and the red wine, which came from M&S, was the worst of the bunch, just horrible and not like wine at all.

The M&S 0.5% lager wasn't bad at all and there was a 'prosecco' that was also acceptable.

If red wine is your thing and it's only that which would hit the spot, I'd look for the lowest alcohol normal wine you can find and just have a small glass.

No. Alcohol-free beer is really nice, but every wine I have tried is vile and has ended up being poured down the sink.

Nope. I found a drinkable non-alcoholic white wine but nothing at all that was drinkable as a red…

Sorry - echoing the previous posters, they’re all awful 😭 counting down the days until this baby is here, I miss wine so much!

Alcohol free wine is all awful, including the gins and Prosecco. When I had morning sickness I couldn’t go near the aisle in the supermarket without dry heaving!

Non-alcoholic red wine is horrible! I've yet to find a decent one. I really like the Tesco Non-Alcoholic Prosseco, Ein Zwei Drei (comes in rose, white and sparkling), Nosecco and there are loads of decent 0% beers.

My favourite non-alco tipple right now is Clean Gin. It's made by Spencer from Made In Chelsea and everyone makes fun of me for drinking the stuff but I love it. Copenhagen Sparkling Tea is also lovely but costs a fortune.

Totally different thing, but I like Schloer

I stopped drinking all together, due to religious reasons, and that reminds me of champagne, which I really liked.

If that's your thing, Sainsburys has a really good one that tastes like Pimms cocktail with strawberry and cucumber

Also not found a decent alcohol-free red. Noughty is my favourite bubbly, lots of good non-alchohic beers out there and a Seedlip or Anon and tonic almost taste like the real thing. Give up the hunt for a red!

The natura red wine that Waitrose sells was great at the weekend after mulling with some spices (I couldn’t tell the difference!)

An update: I've tried the McGuigan Zero and it's ok! It's definitely a sipper but it's hitting the spot - like a bad red wine 😂 I've also bought the sainsburys own brand zéro alcohol mulled wine for a tester while we do some decorating later in the week!

The natureo brand is quite good
The red is ok but the rose is very drinkable

Norfolk Punch is very good drunk warm as a mulled wine substitute.
www.norfolkpunch.com/
Widely stocked in health food/hippy stores but not in Holland and Barrett AFAIK