It’s no secret moms like Wine. I liked wine way before becoming a mom, I just feel it calling to me a little more now when the evening rolls around and it’s been a long day of nonstop “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.” I guess it seems just a little more acceptable than knocking back a few tequila shots after you put the kid in the tub.
My wine consumption may have gone up a little after having my son, and possibly doubled during the tantrum streak of early ’18, but that wasn’t the only change. My wine habits all adjusted to the way of mom life, from the glass I use drink it, to the way I store it.
*Disclaimer: Post contains a few Amazon affiliate links, so if you buy something I might get a few cents commission from the purchase.*
How to Drink Wine Like a Mother
1 – Stemless Wine Glasses – Invest shortly after giving birth because once that little bundle of joy starts moving, glasses go tumbling. Stemless Wine Glasses work just as well, look cool and are less likely to topple over or be smacked out of your hand by an unpredictable toddler. I could say go plastic and avoid the possibility of breaking them at all, but yuck, I’m not going plastic unless I’m lounging by a pool. They have a ton of cute stemless wine glasses on Amazon, and I always find fun ones whenever I browse the glasses section at department stores.
2 – Get a Simple Corkscrew – I have a fancy wine opener that requires a gas cartridge and shoots the cork out with the press of a button. I never replaced the cartridges and it has sat in a drawer for four years (or more). Who has time for that? Get something simple. I’ve always been a fan of what I call “The Jumping Jack Man.” I feel the appearance is self-explanatory:
It also doubles as a baby toy! Kidding…sort of. I actually remember being fascinated by my mom’s jumping jack corkscrew when I was little. There’s also even more simple wine openers but I’ve always liked this one (maybe because of fond childhood memories? lol) .
3 – Make More Space – Once you have a child, all that fridge space goes to new things like milk, juice, breast milk, bottles, sippy cups and more milk. I’ve never gone through so much milk in my life. It makes it hard to reason that you absolutely need to wedge that Bottle of Pinot Grigio in there to make it extra chilled. This is where the wine chiller comes in. Something like the Newair AWR-190SB 19 Bottle Compressor Wine Cooler frees up your fridge space and keeps your wine at the perfect temperature. Plus you have plenty of space to keep a nice bottle ready on that rare occasion you have company over.
I was sent this wine cooler for review, but wow, I wish I would have thought of this when we were redoing our kitchen and I’d already have gotten one! This particular one has a nice sleek design that works as a built-in or stand-alone, so it blends right in with kitchen decor or wherever you need it. The top shelf has extra space to fit fatter bottles, so I put champagne up there, wine in the middle and used the more open bottom space for beers. It has an adjustable temperature, a neat blue light with three settings and a lock at the bottom to keep out curious children.
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4 – Get a Trusty Wine Stopper – As a frazzled and always in a hurry mom, you probably lost the cork in the time it took to read that sentence. Always have a handy stopper to put back in the bottle, and make sure it is something you can trust when you lay the bottle on its side. Those cute decorative ones are not the most trustworthy. And the ones with fun little things attached to the top don’t fit in the fridge or chiller. I like the bottle stopper with the lever that flips over and locks it into place, creating an airtight seal.
5 – Cheese and Crackers – I used to do fancy cheese and meat plates. I even have special plates just for cutting and displaying cheese. These days I just want something fast and easy, but I still want my fancy cheese, so I started getting these “adult” snack packs from Hillshire Snacking. I love all these! And my son loves to steal all the cheese as soon as I open one. I get them at Publix for around $3 a pack. They make a perfect pairing with a glass of wine and put a little something in your belly if you are still trying to get dinner ready.
6 – The Occasional Box – I know I mentioned all these things about wine openers, bottle stoppers and storage, but sometimes you just have to get a little thrifty and try a box. There’s no shame in my box game! Boxes have come along way from my early days of drinking Franzia’s White Zinfandel. You can still get the Franzia of course, but there are much better choices available. My two favorites are the Bota Box RedVolution and Nighthawk Black. Both are delicious red blends. Black Box and Vin Vault both make a nice Pinot Noir. And they all make a good Pinot Grigio. I’m less picky about my whites.
Your life will change in ways you never expected once you have children. I’d have laughed if you told me a few years ago that future me would be happily sipping boxed wine and eating a snack pack with a tiny potty for a bathroom seat, but this is now a typical evening and part of our bath time routine. We both get to wind down, relax and nibble on cheese, and that sounds like a pretty good time to me.
