Stop Drinking Wine: Practical Steps for Breaking the Wine Habit

Stopping drinking wine follows the same principles as stopping any alcohol, but the nightly wine habit has specific patterns worth understanding.

What You'll Discover:

• Why the wine habit is particularly hard to break.

• How "just wine" can still become a problem.

• Signs your wine drinking has become problematic.

• Practical strategies for cutting back or quitting.

• How medication can make stopping easier.

• What to expect when you stop drinking wine.

• How to handle social situations without wine.

Wine occupies a unique cultural space. It's considered sophisticated, associated with relaxation and good food, and marketed as a healthier alcohol choice. This makes recognizing when wine drinking has become problematic more difficult than with other types of alcohol.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, moderate drinking for women is defined as up to 1 drink per day. Many women who consider themselves moderate wine drinkers actually consume significantly more than this.

Why the Wine Habit Is Particularly Hard to Break

The first thing to know is that wine has become deeply embedded in many people's daily routines in ways that make it harder to change.

Cultural acceptance - Wine is marketed as sophisticated and acceptable. "Wine mom" culture normalizes daily drinking. Opening a bottle after work is portrayed as self-care rather than potential problem drinking.

Routine integration - The wine habit often becomes tied to specific daily rituals: cooking dinner, watching TV, unwinding after putting kids to bed, relaxing on the weekend. These associations make wine feel like a necessary part of relaxation.

Gradual increase - The pattern often develops slowly. What started as occasional wine with dinner becomes every dinner, then pre-dinner, then a second glass, then a bottle. The escalation happens so gradually it's easy to miss.

Denial enablers - "It's just wine" minimizes the alcohol content. "I never drink liquor" suggests moderation. "I'm not drunk" ignores that habitual daily drinking is concerning regardless of intoxication level.

If it seems like stopping wine should be easier than stopping "real" drinking, that's a misconception that keeps many people stuck. Wine is alcohol, and the same mechanisms that make any alcohol habit hard to break apply.

How "Just Wine" Can Still Be a Problem

Wine contains significant amounts of alcohol. A standard 5-ounce glass of wine at 12% alcohol contains the same amount of alcohol as a 12-ounce beer or a 1.5-ounce shot of liquor.

The math of wine drinking:

• A standard bottle of wine contains about 5 glasses

• Many wine glasses hold 8 to 10 ounces, not 5

• A large "glass" of wine may actually be 2 standard drinks

• A bottle of wine per night equals 35 drinks per week

• Even half a bottle per night is 17+ drinks per week

According to health guidelines, heavy drinking for women is 8 or more drinks per week. Many regular wine drinkers exceed this threshold without realizing it.

Something to consider is that the health risks of wine are the same as any alcohol. Wine does not protect against the liver damage, cancer risk, brain effects, and other consequences of regular alcohol consumption. The "French Paradox" and supposed heart benefits of wine have been largely debunked by recent research.

Signs Your Wine Drinking Has Become Problematic

Several indicators suggest that nightly wine has become more than a casual habit.

Quantity signs:

• Drinking more than one glass per sitting has become normal

• Finishing a bottle alone happens regularly

• You've upgraded to larger glasses

• You notice you're buying wine more frequently

Behavioral signs:

• Looking forward to wine time as the highlight of your day

• Feeling irritated or restless if you can't have wine

• Planning your evening around when you can start drinking

• Making sure you never run out of wine at home

• Choosing wine over activities that would prevent drinking

Consequence signs:

• Not sleeping well despite using wine to relax

• Waking up tired or foggy

• Weight gain you can't explain

• Difficulty remembering conversations from the previous evening

• Feeling worse overall despite wine supposedly helping you relax

Attempt signs:

• Telling yourself you'll only have one glass, then having more

• Setting rules about wine that you keep breaking

• Trying to cut back but consistently returning to old patterns

For a more detailed assessment, see our article on do I have a drinking problem.

Practical Strategies for Cutting Back or Quitting

Several approaches can help you stop drinking wine or reduce your consumption.

Change your environment:

• Don't keep wine at home. If it's not there, you can't drink it on impulse.

• If others in your home drink, ask for their support

• Avoid the wine aisle at the grocery store

Break the routine:

• Do something different during your usual wine time

• Change where you sit in the evening

• Start a new activity that's incompatible with drinking

• Take a walk, call a friend, or start a project during the trigger time

Replace the ritual:

• Have a different special beverage ready (sparkling water, herbal tea, fancy mocktail)

• Keep something in your hand during the time you'd normally have wine

• Create a new relaxation ritual that doesn't involve alcohol

Set specific limits if reducing rather than quitting:

• Maximum one glass per occasion

• Only on weekends

• Only when out (not at home)

• Track every glass to maintain awareness

Build accountability:

• Tell someone your goal

• Check in regularly about your progress

• Consider working with a coach or therapist

For more strategies, see our article on tips for quitting alcohol.

How Medication Can Make Stopping Easier

Naltrexone is an FDA-approved medication that can significantly help when you're trying to stop drinking wine.

How it works:

The medication blocks opioid receptors in the brain. When you drink with naltrexone in your system, wine doesn't produce the same relaxing, pleasurable effect. Without that reward, the urge to drink diminishes over time.

Why it's helpful for the wine habit:

• Reduces the craving that builds during the day

• Makes wine less satisfying when you do drink

• Helps break the association between wine and relaxation

• Allows your brain to relearn evening relaxation without alcohol

What to expect:

Many women report that after a few weeks on naltrexone, wine becomes "not worth it." The anticipated reward doesn't materialize, so the drive to drink fades. The internal battle to resist the evening glass becomes much easier.

Naltrexone is taken as a daily 50mg tablet. It doesn't require abstinence and can be used whether your goal is quitting completely or cutting back to occasional drinking.

For that reason, programs like Choose Your Horizon combine naltrexone with coaching. The medication addresses the biological craving while coaching addresses the habits and triggers.

Our article on how naltrexone helps you regain control explains the medication in more detail.

What to Expect When You Stop Drinking Wine

If you've been drinking wine daily, stopping brings both challenges and benefits.

First few days:

• You may feel restless or irritable during your usual wine time

• Sleep may be temporarily disrupted before it improves

• You might feel bored or not know what to do with yourself

• Cravings are often strongest in familiar trigger situations

First few weeks:

• Sleep quality typically improves significantly

• Energy levels increase

• Mental clarity improves

• Weight may start to change

• Skin often looks better

• The habit begins to weaken

First few months:

• New routines become established

• Cravings become less frequent

• You discover that relaxation is possible without wine

• Physical health markers often improve

• Relationship with alcohol feels more manageable

All that said, individual experiences vary. Some people find stopping relatively easy. Others struggle more, especially if the habit is deeply entrenched. Medication and support can make a significant difference.

Handling Social Situations Without Wine

Wine often plays a role in social gatherings, which can make not drinking feel awkward.

Strategies:

• Have a response ready: "I'm taking a break" or "I'm not drinking tonight" requires no explanation

• Arrive with a plan for what you'll drink instead

• Hold a glass of something (sparkling water, mocktail) so you have something in your hand

• Leave early if the pressure feels too strong

• Recognize that most people care less about your drinking than you think

So, will people notice and comment? The short answer is that some might, briefly, but it's rarely as big a deal as anticipated. Most people are focused on themselves, not your glass.

Taking the Next Step

Stopping drinking wine follows the same principles as stopping any alcohol, but understanding the specific patterns of wine culture helps. Recognizing that "just wine" can still be problematic, breaking the nightly routine, and using medication to reduce cravings can all contribute to success.

If you want to explore how medication could help you stop or cut back on wine, take the online Alcohol Use Assessment to see if naltrexone might be right for you.