Like a fine wine, your baby needs time age… You know that a good wine should be sniffed, swirled, savored and that’s all before the first actual sip! So you’re taking your good sweet time letting that wine get into your belly. Now if you’re like me- that’s all well and good when I’m out in the vineyard hanging around taking my time is fine. When I’m at home I assume that the wine right out of the box is ready to go- and when I was pregnant that’s exactly how I wanted my little peanut to be. Ready to go. Wine in the box/bottle does NOTHING for me. I want it. I wanted JL here with us. I couldn’t snuggle him in the womb. I couldn’t sniff his little head (etc etc). BUT I know that patience is a virtue (though not one I possess), and that there was really nothing I could do to speed up the process of him getting here.
My patience is neither here nor there though, THIS post is all about preggo wine! (Save the look- I didn’t say go buy a bottle and balance it on your belly while you read). I had 2 weddings, 3 engagements, and countless parties (yay for being pregnant during the holidays) we were scheduled to attend while I was pregnant. I also happened to be the office happy hour coordinator (not because I was always drinking- but because I get shit handled and had no problem sending the email and picking the location to the select crew of fun folks I worked with). So what’s a girl to do while pregnant with a social life? Maybe you’re not ready to announce your pregnancy (me at the company Christmas party), maybe you don’t want to make it the focus at an event (me at a friends engagement party), or maybe you just don’t want to be the only person not drinking/being social when you have friends over (me in general).
I did a lot of research into what would make me look most like a person blending in at the party and have compiled my list of the best non-alcoholic wines available (I focused on the reds because that was what I preferred… The Whites are on a similar ranking (different flavors) BUT since there are basically 2 companies that are available without an obscene amount of work I didn’t think we needed to keep beating a dead horse. (Yes there is non-alcoholic beer- but I don’t drink beer much and doubt I can add a lot to that conversation. And of course there are mocktails but let’s also call that what it is- juice. Juice with a lot of work to make it fancier.) Also, it should be noted that I am not a Dr and if you have a question ask them! I asked my Dr and she said non-alcoholic was fine and I could even…. Wait no. You need to ask your Dr.
The Best Non-Alcoholic Wines as Rated by the Boozy Mommy
First the definition:
What is DEALCOHOLIZED or ALCOHOL-FREE wine? Dealcoholized wine also known as Nonalcoholic or Alcohol-Free wine, is a type of wine with the alcohol artificially removed. Such wine starts as fermented grape juice, but is then subjected to one of a number of processes used for extracting the alcohol.
Now the picks:
Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon
Where to Buy: I could ONLY find this for me to purchase at BevMo! and at a few restaurants that I frequent. So not exactly convenient for me to purchase.
What’s it Taste Like: Cherry juice. Straight cherry juice. Maybe cherry-grape? Either way, not my favorite of the non-alcoholic bunch, but it was available and I could have a glass without looking like the odd man out.
Where it Ranks: Last choice. Sorry- but the flavor that tastes like fermented cherries and lack of convenience dropped it.
FRe Alcohol Free Wines (Red Options)
Where to Buy: Ralphs, Vons, BevMo!, kinda wherever I looked
What’s it Taste Like: Pomegranate Grape Juice. It’s not a bad substitute and after 6 months I started to wonder if maybe this WAS what wine tasted like I just didn’t wake up exhausted.
Where it Ranks: Buy it. It’s perfect for your Bachelor viewing parties and both the Red Blend and the Merlot were pretty good. I didn’t hate them.
FRe Brut
Where to Buy: Ralphs, Vons, BevMo! Basically this was the most available option
What’s it Taste Like: A crisper apple hinted cider.
Where it Ranks: Honestly became my go to drink. I was all about the bubbles. They made JL happy, kept my nausea at bay and I felt fancy as hell while I had one! What are you celebrating? The fact that I’m awesome and having fun with adults (while pregnant!).
So whatever works for you- try and remember, it’s not forever. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and you will get there. And as soon as your little one gets here (or sooner if the Dr okays it for you), you can go back to champagne showers and mommy merlot.
