We all like wine and we all like it all the time, so what happens when that luxury is taken away from us for nine months? How do we cope without a splash of the pink stuff hitting our tastebuds at least once a week? (Okay okay, you got me - once a night.) Pregnancy bestows upon us one of the greatest gifts that life can give, but also takes away the only other great gift we're given: alcohol.
Luckily for us, ladies, we don't have to sit at the dinner table with our girlfriends, clutching a diet coke in a tumbler so hard it might break. I mean don't get too excited - we haven't found a way around the whole baby/alcohol issue; you will still have to watch all your friends getting drunk and talking about their rich and fruitful sex lives on a Saturday night.
But we tried non-alcoholic wines just for you and sussed out the fruitiest, tastiest bevvies that you and your baby bump can get on board with.
Eisberg
When you think of the word Eisberg you may think "wait, are we talking about that guy from the film Zombieland?", but that would be Jesse Eisenberg, not Eisberg. Still, after that popped into my mind I found it hard to erase the thought of a young Lex Luther supping a Sauvignon on a pink fur rug in front of a raging fire, so if you're feeling the same right now, here's a few facts about the wine company to erase that thought: Eisberg is the UK's leading non-alcoholic wine, and it's made in exactly the same way as alcoholic wine, except they remove the alcohol at the end of the process.
They have four different kinds: Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon. I tried all of them - yes, all of them - and good news: they're quite delicious, and taste strangely like normal wine, but without such a bitter taste. So if, as a drinker, you like sweet wines, all of these will be right up your street. I usually am not a fan of Chardonnay because I have the tastebuds of a 16 year old chav: when it comes to alcohol, the sweeter the better. But this was surprisingly nice - a sweet, peachy flavour with a subtle lemon freshness.
The Sauvignon Blanc was also a nice surprise, comprising of all the best bits of a usual SB: zesty and tropical with a hit of citrus, it makes you want to run straight into summer clutching the bottle, a straw and a tiny cocktail umbrella. The same can be said for the Rose, which is sweet sweet sweet, with an intense flourish of strawberry. Which is why, when I finally tried the Cabernet Sauvignon it was intense. And it weirdly taste exactly like a red wine, so rich.
I have to say, I'm not a fan of red wine so this wasn't a particularly favourably flavour for me, but if you are a slave to the red stuff, with strong plummy and black current aromas, this variety is perf for you.
Tesco Finest Alcohol-Free Range
Tesco do two non-alcoholic wines and oh man, when they say finest they really mean finest. I was dubious about these, but after trying a rather big glass of each (two when it came to the Pinotage Blush) I taught myself a lesson in not judging a book by its cover, or judging a wine by its label. These wines are made from South African grapes and are fermented until just before they turn alcoholic. Both the Chenin Blanc and the Pinotage Blush are deliciously fruity and refreshingly bubbly; they don't taste like wine exactly, they're more fruity that wine, kind of like a Shloer, which is perfect when you're not sure which friends like what flavour when it comes to vino.
Echo Falls
Listen up people, 'cause this is cool: Echo Falls' sparkling tisane wine has been three years in the making. Three years. Instead of using yeast that turns wine into alcohol, this wine is blended with green tea, and that green tea flavour makes the taste of this beverage oh-so gentle and delicate. It's also hella sweet which sits perfectly on my tastebuds and makes it the perfect accompaniment to an even sweeter dessert, like a fruit mousse. I got right into the British spirit and dropped a fat ol' strawberry into my glass for this drink, and it took me, floating on a big cloud, slap bang into the middle of a hot day in June, which is to say it would be great for a summery garden party.
Do you have any other non-alcoholic wines to add to our list? Let us know! @sofeminineUK
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