Christmas parties, end of year gatherings, bottomless brunches... There's no doubt at this time of year our alcohol intake is higher than usual. This is all well and good but for those of you that who are working towards a health or weight goal but would still like enjoy a cold beer or a glass of wine - this is the post for you.

Alcohol in moderation can be a part of a healthy well-balanced lifestyle. It is known (and you know that we have to mention this) when we overindulge in alcohol it can leave us feeling sleep deprived, groggy or flat and when we feel like this, the last thing on our mind is eating healthily and staying active.

Below we have compared a list of lower alcohol wines and lower carb beers as well as a list of non-alcoholic options so you can sashay around the city this summer with options!

Lower carb beers

Firstly let's look at the most popular lower carb beers that are currently on the market. Lower carb beers usually have the same amount of alcohol in it but contain less carbohydrate due to an extended brewing process that breaks down the natural sugars lingering in the beer reducing the total carbohydrates and the total calories in the beer, making it a lower sugar and lower calorie alternative to your regular beer.

Speights Summit Ultra Lower Carb Lager:

Price= $23/12 pack
Calories per serve= 87cal
Carbohydrates per serve= 1.5g
Sugars per serve= 0.3g
Alcohol by volume= 4.2%
Comparison= 75% less carbs than the average carb content of leading NZ beer brands

Pure Blonde:

Price= $17.99/12 pack
Calories per serve= 92 cal
Carbohydrates per serve= 2g
Sugars per serve= <1g
Alcohol by volume= 3%
Comparison= 80% less carbs than the average carb content of leading NZ beer brands and 50% less calories than wine per ml

DB Export 33:

Price= $20/12 pack
Calories per serve= 107
Carbohydrates per serve= 5g
Sugars per serve= <1g
Alcohol by volume= 4.6%
Comparison= 30% less carbohydrate than DB Export Gold

Heineken Light:

Price= $13/6 pack
Calories per serve= 73 cal
Carbohydrates per serve= 6.3g
Sugars per serve= <1g
Alcohol by volume= 2.5% (the lowest in alcohol)
Comparison= Approx half the calories and half the carbohydrates of regular heineken

Lower alcohol wines

Now let's look at the most popular lower alcohol wines. Lower alcohol wines usually have the same amount of carbohydrates, but lower levels of alcohol and therefore lower levels of calories as alcohol has 7 calories per gram. They achieve this via different techniques including harvesting the grapes earlier to ensure lower sugar levels in the grape, resulting in lower alcohol levels during fermentation.

On average these wines have 25%-30% less alcohol compared to the standard Sauvignon blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Rose and Riesling.

Peter Yealands Light Alcohol Sauvignon Blanc

Price= $14.99
Alcohol by volume= 9.5%

Villa Maria Private Bin Light Pinot Gris

Price= $16.99
Alcohol by volume= 9%

Forrest Wines: The Doctors Pinot Noir

Price= $25
Alcohol by volume= 9.5%

Forrest Wines: The Doctors Rose

Price= $19.99
Alcohol by volume= 9.5%

Forrest Wines: The doctors riesling

Price= $19.99
Alcohol by volume= 8.5%

Non-alcoholic options

For those of you who want to stay away from alcohol altogether but still want to be able to enjoy a beverage while out and about, without having to sip on plain water or overload on sugar here are our go to alcohol free low in sugar drink recommendations.

Kombucha

Comes in loads of different flavours in cute cans or bottles
Low in sugar
Full of good gut bugs
Great alternative to alcohol or fizzy drinks
Phoebe’s favourite brands are Remedy and Mothers Brew Kitchen but there are loads of different kombucha brands on the market

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