‘After seven years sober, I’m drinking wine again’

Cat Rodie had her last ever wine on a Sunday evening after a family holiday – that is until she recently picked up a bottle of sparkling.

I had my last wine on a Sunday evening at a pub in Port Macquarie, NSW. We were on our way back from a family holiday in Byron Bay and I was ready to give my body a break from booze. Not so ready that I didn’t need that last glass though. If I’d known then what I know now I might have savoured it more.

The first goal was to have a month without alcohol. When the month was up, I extended the goal to 10 weeks. Then six months. By the time I got to my first soberversary, I realised that the change was permanent. Nobody was more surprised than me.

That first year was tough. Every social occasion felt like a test of my resolve, every well-meaning “can’t you just have one?” was a hurdle. Friends whom I’d previously enjoyed boozy nights out with stopped inviting me out. One told me that there was no point going out until I was drinking again.

Cat Rodie had her last glass of wine after a family holiday. Picture: Supplied.

What I figured out in that first month is that for me, it’s all or nothing. I can’t moderate. There will never be ‘just one’. This could be, in part, because alcohol increases impulsiveness, making it harder to stop at one. It could be genetics. Perhaps it’s a mix of the two.

I loved being a non-drinker. The joy of waking up hangover free. Sleeping better and having more energy. But there were lots of things that I missed too, especially when it came to socialising. There is just something significant about sharing a bottle of wine. A sense of occasion. A type of camaraderie that just doesn’t materialise over sparkling water.

Despite missing wine, it didn’t occur to me to try non-alcoholic. In my drinking days, I’d been quite fussy about my wine, so couldn’t see myself enjoying something substandard. I assumed that non-alcoholic wine would be akin to the grape juice served on the children’s table on special occasions.

I also worried that having a glass of wine in my hand might tempt me back to the real thing. A real possibility, that non-alcoholic drinks blogger Dry But Wet highlights with the words, “this product emulates alcohol and could be triggering so please be careful,” at the end of every review.

When a fellow non-drinker recommend Noughty, an alcohol-free sparkling wine, I decided to bite the bullet. It was a revelation. All the flavour and aroma of a classic champagne, without the alcohol. For the first time in a long time, I was enjoying wine again.

Cat Rodie is drinking wine again after seven years – this time it’s alcohol-free. Picture: Supplied.

I’ve now become a bit evangelical about alcohol-free wine. For me, it’s been a game changer. I can enjoy all the benefits of sobriety, but still feel included socially. I can share a bottle with a friend and experience that old sense of camaraderie that I missed. Nights out with friends have been transformed.

I’m not the only one enjoying this new trend. Irene Falcone, the founder of Sans Drinks, tells me that non-alcoholic wine has come a long way in the last decade, and in particular the last 18 months.

“It’s no longer sugar-laden grape juice – it’s premium wine that has its alcohol removed,” she says. “The sheer number of brands that are making non-alcoholic wine show that it’s getting more popular. And it’s not just niche non-alcoholic brands, popular Australian brands such as Brown Brothers are getting involved too.”

Interestingly though, it’s not teetotallers like me who are behind the growth of the non-alcoholic sector. “While there are now more non-drinkers in Australia, they’re not the group that is driving this trend. The biggest consumers of non-alcoholic wine are people who like a drink but want to cut back on alcohol,” Falcone explains.

Of course, there are still lots of people who ask, ‘what’s the point’ and to that I say, it’s a bit like having a fake Christmas tree – it’s essentially the same experience, but you don’t end up dropping on the floor.

Study after study tells us that alcohol is bad news for our health – but with non-alcoholic options, I can have my wine, and drink it too.

Cat Rodie is a freelance writer.