Wine or Flein?

4 min read

Did you give up alcohol when trying to get pregnant, while being pregnant or while breastfeeding? Most likely yes. Then you have most likely also been sick of toasting with a glass of water or dull juice. But there is an end in sight - Flein!

Flein is an elegant aperitif and food companion. It is an excellent non-alcoholic alternative to a glass of wine for relaxing after a stressful day or for celebrating with.

The grapes come from vineyards that are cultivated specifically for the production of juice. The care of the grapevine, as well as the harvest are carefully done by hand.

The harvested grapes are pressed gently like champagne and the juice is gently pasteurised thanks to the newest technology. As a result, Flein unfolds a taste experience that is particularly typical of its grape sort. Flein surprises the drinker with its freshness, elegance and lively acidity.

Veronika Mitteregger with her husband & sons in front of their home in Austria

In an interview with us the Founder and Owner, Veronika Mitteregger, suggested that the wine is best enjoyed pure and chilled in a large wine glass. Veronika comes from the winemaker family Gross, located in Austria. The idea of creating a non-alcoholic drink, which one appreciates as much as wine, came to her during her pregnancies. She told us that having a glass of wine and talking about its philosophy was always a big part of social gatherings in their family. However, when she was pregnant she was not able to take part in those discussions anymore and felt a little bit left out, even though her husband tried to make her feel better by putting Blackcurrant juice into her water to at least make it look like wine.That was when she asked herself whether the taste of the grapes, which is different for each variety, could also be preserved in a juice? As well as, whether one can have the same appreciation for a juice as for wine? Fortunately, she was able to motivate her brothers and sisters-in-law to take part in this project. They began the project in 2016 by talking to experts in the fruit juice field and found an innovative pasteurisation technique. Two years later the first bottle of Flein was filled. The next harvest, in 2019, was the first being sold to customers. and Today, Veronika is mother of two boys, aged 8 and 6 years, as well as the managing director of the project ‘Flein’. Flein, the purely natural product, is now produced in three different countries - Alto Adige/Italy (Cantina Kurtatsch), Lake Constance/Germany (Weingut Schmidt) and by her brothers in Südsteiermark/Austria (Gross & Gross).

Flein is not only a great maternity drink but also enables people who decide not to drink alcohol because of health and religious reasons ‘to be part’ of any social gatherings.

Photo shows how exhausted Veronikas "boys" were after the photo shoot for Babyluv Care Magazine