In June, Port Fairy's Amy Armstrong went sober, now lobbying for more non-alcohol options

In June the Port Fairy resident decided to stop the habit altogether and has begun lobbying restaurants and cafes to think about more non-alcohol options.

"It was just time to give it up," she said. "In lockdown I noticed I was drinking more.

"I tried moderation a few times but it was not worth my mental energy of counting drinks and judging myself.

"I'd thought about going sober for a long time but I thought it would be the end of my social life. But it hasn't been and that's why I've been looking into alternatives."

Mrs Armstrong began looking into wine and spirit alternatives in venues as she found socialising was not the same with soft drink.

Port Fairy-based couple Samantha Manning and Haydn Farley's ready-to-drink alcohol-free product Monday Distillery opened the market to the newly sober Mrs Armstrong.

"It was a vortex, the more I looked into alcoholic-free drinks, the more I found and there is so much more than I realised," she said.

"I've found that Dan Murphy's has a limited range but if you start shopping online you go down a rabbit hole. A lot of brands are independent and Australian owned companies and I can't keep up with want I want to try.

"It's hit and miss with red wine but if I don't like the taste I can turn it into a sangria. There's a lot of sparkling wines where you wouldn't know the difference."

Mrs Armstrong began an Instagram account @dry_but_wet where she documents the products she finds and opens the conversation about having more non-alcohol free options.

"Its definitely a growing movement and people aren't super aware of what's out there," she said. "At a local level, businesses are pretty good with stocking alternatives. Conlans Wine Store, The Belfast, Bank Street and Co and Wytons stock Monday Distillery and Conlans and The Belfast allow me to bring in my own bottles of wine and charge corkage.

"The Ministry of Ombibulous Studies wants to craft their own alcohol-free options and they've been asking me for advice.

"I will keep trying to push hospitality venues because if you don't ask nothing will change and it sucks going to a venue when you can only have kombucha or soda water."

Mrs Armstrong said there was a stigma that people who went sober were reformed alcoholics when in reality she said there was far more reasons why people choose sobriety, including the benefits.

"It's changed my life; I sleep better, it's helped with weight and it's really made a difference in my confidence," she said. "I relied on drinking in social situations but I didn't need to.

"I'm more present in my life and in spending time with my daughter Violet; it's put a lot into perspective.

"Once I started to tell people, I found that everyone wanted to talk to me about it. Even people who drink are curious about it."

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