Esther: My alternatives to wine

I love good food. And fireplace. And fun. And parties. And yes: of good wine. I'm going to France for it. Samples. charm. Ambiance. To enjoy. loading.

Since I live at my new address, I have met nice new people, who also love this place. And if there is a party, with the group that has baptized itself as Partypeople, we like to drink a glass of prosecco. To open the party. If the prosecco is accidentally insufficiently purchased, we easily switch to a good red wine. Delicious with such a sturdy wooden board, with the most delicious cheeses and decorated with figs and blue grapes. Is your mouth watering yet?

Good. So I pass. I have been dry since January 1. That means no prosecco. No red wine. Which. All. Not. But then what? A glass of Coke? Ew, I only like that twice a year. juice? I don't like those factory-made drinks, with fake sugars or other E-states. Water? In the winter I really don't pull that all night. Tea? I recently saw myself sitting on the couch with some friends, each with a cup of tea. On Saturday evening… I was bothered by an opinion (something dull and boring), by the way it was a very pleasant evening.

I drink a maximum of four cups of coffee a day, ever since I was a student when I once went to a hospital and drank at least ten cups of coffee one evening. I got haunted back on the bus. No room found, but a lesson learned.

Non-alcoholic wine? I haven't found a nice red one yet. The bubbles are soon fine. But secretly I wonder if I would notice a difference with spa red. So no: not a good alternative for me, but money wasted so far, especially with regard to the red wine.

What is? Well, I made Elderflower Champagne last spring. This is an alcohol-free drink, in which the bubbles have formed over the months. Very tasty, and a good alternative to prosecco. The ladies of the Partypeople like to add real prosecco. But I'm fine with this concoction.

I also preserved grapes with the juicer. A beautiful burgundy red drink. This really looks perfect in a nice wine glass, because hey, the eye wants something too. What I still don't like is the unromantic opening of the boring milk bottle. I will be working on this this year so that it somewhat resembles uncorking a wine bottle. A nice label on it also helps. It is a delicious slightly sweet drink, really: not nearly as sweet as the grape juice from the supermarket. I have also drunk this several times at a party or by the fireplace. It's a good alternative in my opinion. Also for my friends.

Opinions are divided about replacing wine with an alcohol-free variant. Would it help to change your habit if you come up with something else in its place? I just love the ritual. And the attention for it. So as soon as my home-brewed grape juice in a beautifully uncorked wine bottle with an appropriate label arrives… I think I'll really switch to 0 % permanently.

I'm honestly curious about your alternatives. Who knows, I may be able to brew a new drink this summer… .