Can You Drink Non-Alcoholic Wine or Beer While Pregnant?

The Short Answer

If you want a wine or beer experience while you are pregnant, reach for a drink labelled 0.0%. That label is the strictest one on the shelf: in Canada it means less than 0.05% alcohol, a trace so small it sits in the same range as a ripe banana, a glass of orange juice or a slice of fresh bread. The drinks worth a second look are the ones labelled only "non-alcoholic" or "dealcoholized" without a 0.0% claim, because those can carry up to 0.5%. Knowing that one difference is most of the job.

The official guidance in Canada is still that there is no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy. That sounds like a warning, but it is actually the clearest argument for a genuine 0.0%: if the thing to avoid is alcohol, a drink that contains none is the honest way to keep the ritual without it.

What "Non-Alcoholic," "Alcohol-Free" and "0.0%" Really Mean

These words are not interchangeable, and the gaps between them are the whole point when you are pregnant. In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's labelling guidance sets the lines, and in practice the non-alcoholic drinks sold here sit under 0.5%, the benchmark used in the United States and Europe.

So "0.0%" and "non-alcoholic" are not the same promise. A bottle can be perfectly good, fully non-alcoholic in the everyday sense, and still carry a trace up to 0.5%. When you want certainty, the 0.0% label is the one that gives it. If you want the longer version of how producers take the alcohol out, our guide on what dealcoholized wine is walks through it.

Why a Genuine 0.0% Is the Comfortable Choice

Here is the part that should put you at ease. Everything the guidance worries about, every study, every recommendation, is about alcohol. Remove the alcohol and you have removed the question. A true 0.0% wine or beer gives you the taste, the cold glass, the toast and the feeling of joining in, without the ingredient you are avoiding.

You are also in good company making that choice. Health services that advise avoiding alcohol in pregnancy still recognise alcohol-free drinks as a reasonable alternative for people who enjoy the social side of a glass, and pregnancy charities point to them for the same reason. Choosing a 0.0% is not cutting a corner. It is picking the version that was made for exactly this moment.

How to Choose a 0.0% You Can Trust

A little label-reading turns "is this okay?" into "yes, this one." Three habits cover it:

• Look for the 0.0% specifically. Not just "non-alcoholic" on the front, the 0.0% figure. If a bottle only says non-alcoholic, check the alcohol number; on our site it is listed on every product page.
• Buy where the alcohol content is shown. Years ago, testing found that a handful of drinks labelled no-alcohol actually carried more than the label claimed, which is exactly why a clearly stated 0.0% from a seller who lists the number matters. It takes the guesswork out.
• Skip the functional ones for now. Some non-alcoholic drinks add botanicals, adaptogens, CBD or other active ingredients that are not all meant for pregnancy. A plain 0.0% beer or a dealcoholized wine keeps it simple, and simple is what you want here.

A Quick Word on Sugar

This is not a safety issue, just something worth knowing so nothing surprises you. When the alcohol comes out of wine, some producers add a little grape juice or concentrate back for roundness, so a few non-alcoholic wines carry more sugar than a dry glass would. If that matters to you, the number is on the label, and our low-sugar wines make it easy to pick a drier style. Beer is rarely an issue on this front.

The Honest Bottom Line

We are not going to tell you a drink is "safe", no honest source puts it that flatly, and your pregnancy is yours and your care provider's to guide. What we can tell you plainly is this: the concern is alcohol, a genuine 0.0% doesn't contain it in any meaningful amount, and that is why so many people reach for one without a second thought. Run your choices past your midwife or doctor, pick a 0.0% you can read the number on, and then enjoy the drink in your hand like everyone else.

Non-Alcoholic Wine and Beer to Reach For

If you want a place to start, look for the 0.0% label. On the wine side, Smoky Bay 0.0% Rosé is one of the few wines on our shelves that carries a true 0.0% claim rather than "under 0.5%", a strawberry-and-cherry rosé that drinks like the real thing. Browse the rest of our non-alcoholic wines and check each product page for the number. On the beer side, several of the big 0.0% lagers and stouts are genuinely 0.0%; our non-alcoholic beer collection lists the alcohol content on every one, and our guide to how non-alcoholic beer is made explains how they get there.