Craving wine every night: why it happens and how to stop it

A craving for wine at the same time every night is usually a habit doing its job: your brain has learned that a certain time, place or feeling comes with a glass, and it starts asking for it before you've decided anything. It can also be hunger, tiredness or stress dressed up as a craving. The good news is that a learned craving tends to get weaker each time you get through it without pouring.

Below: what's behind the nightly pull, how to tell which trigger is yours, a 10-minute plan for the moment it hits, what to drink instead, a 14-night plan, and when a craving is a sign to talk to a doctor.

Why you crave wine at the same time every night

Habits form when the same action follows the same cue, again and again, and brings a reward. For nightly wine the loop is often simple:

• Cue: getting home, the kids in bed, starting dinner, sitting on the sofa, 6 p.m.
• Routine: open the fridge, pour a glass.
• Reward: the first sips feel like the day is over. Alcohol does change how you feel quickly, and the ritual itself (the glass, the sound of the pour) becomes part of the reward.

After enough repeats, the cue alone sets off the wanting. That's why the craving can show up before you've even thought about wine, and why it often feels strongest at one exact time or place. A 2010 study at University College London that followed people building a new daily habit found it took a median of 66 days for the habit to feel automatic, with a wide range from 18 to 254 days. Breaking an old one isn't instant either, but every night you get past the cue without the routine weakens the link.

Six common triggers behind the craving

The same "I want wine" feeling can come from different places. Knowing yours tells you what to change.

Recovery groups use the shorthand HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) for the states that make urges stronger. It's a useful check: before you pour, ask whether you're one of those four, and deal with that first.

Not sure which is yours? Our free drinking pattern quiz asks when and why you usually pour and names your pattern, for example the evening unwinder, in about 2 minutes.

Is craving wine every night a sign of a problem?

Not by itself. Plenty of people have a strong nightly habit without having a drinking disorder. What matters more is how much you drink and how the craving behaves:

• Can you skip a night when you decide to, or does the craving win most of the time?
• Does one glass usually turn into more than you meant?
• Do you feel shaky, sweaty, anxious or unable to sleep without it?
• Has the amount crept up over time to get the same effect?

Those questions come close to some of the criteria doctors use for alcohol use disorder. If several sound familiar, read is drinking wine every night a problem?, which goes through the full list and a 7-day skip test. It also helps to know what you're actually drinking: a generous glass of red is often two standard drinks, not one. How many standard drinks are in a bottle of wine has the numbers.

What to do when the craving hits: a 10-minute plan

Cravings rise, peak and fade. A technique from relapse-prevention therapy called urge surfing treats the craving as a wave you watch rather than obey. You don't need to win the whole evening, just the next few minutes.

1. Name it (30 seconds). Say to yourself: "This is the 6 o'clock craving." Naming it puts a little distance between you and the feeling.
2. Delay (10 minutes). Tell yourself you can decide in 10 minutes. Set a timer. You're not saying no; you're saying not yet.
3. Do the HALT check. Eat something if you're hungry. Drink a big glass of cold water. Sit down if you're exhausted.
4. Change the scene. Leave the kitchen. Go outside, take a shower, walk the dog, call someone. The cue often lives in a place.
5. Give your hands the ritual. Pour something else into your wine glass: sparkling water with lime, a non-alcoholic wine, tea.
6. Then decide. When the timer goes, decide on purpose. Often the wave has passed. If you still want a glass on a night you planned one, measure it and enjoy it.

The first nights are usually the hardest. Many people find the pull is noticeably weaker after a week or two of handling it this way, though it varies from person to person.

What to drink instead of wine

Part of the craving is for the ritual: something cold, grown-up and a bit special in a nice glass at the end of the day. Keep that, change what's in it.

• Sparkling water with something sharp: lime, grapefruit, a splash of bitters (bitters contain a little alcohol, but a few dashes is a tiny amount).
• Alcohol-free wine: sparkling ones tend to taste closest to the real thing; reds vary more.
• Kombucha or shrubs: sour and complex, like wine. Check sugar on the label.
• Herbal or iced tea in a wine glass, especially later in the evening.
• Tart cherry or pomegranate juice cut with soda for something red.

Our guides to non-alcoholic drinks to make at home and sober curious drinks to buy have recipes and options with prices.

A 14-night plan to weaken the craving

This plan doesn't ask you to quit. It asks you to break the "every night" link so wine becomes a choice again.

If you drink wine every single night now, this plan will feel bigger than it looks. That's normal. For more on the nightly streak, see how to cut back on daily drinking, and for wine-specific changes like pours and buying, how to cut back on drinking wine.

Make the craving easier to resist at home

• Don't keep open bottles. An open bottle in the fridge door is a cue every time you open it.
• Buy one bottle at a time, on the day you plan to drink it, rather than a case.
• Put the wine glasses away and put the glass you'll use for your alternative drink where they were.
• Tell the people you live with what you're doing, and ask them not to pour for you.
• Have the alternative cold and ready before the craving hour, not something you have to make.

There's more on setting up the house in how to drink less alcohol at home.

When you give in

You will have nights when the craving wins. That isn't the plan failing; it's information. The next morning, ask:

• What time was it, and where was I?
• Was I hungry, angry, lonely or tired?
• Was the alternative ready, or did I have to think?

Change one thing for the next time that cue comes round, and carry on with the plan. Throwing out the whole week because of one night is the most common way people end up back where they started.

Why the craving can feel worse before it gets better

Some people notice that, for the first few nights, the craving gets louder: more restless, more irritable, more thoughts about wine. A habit that stops getting its usual reward often pushes harder for a while before it fades. Sleep may also feel different in the first week if you've been using wine to fall asleep; our guide on alcohol and sleep quality explains why. Many people also notice they want something sweet in the evening when they cut back on wine; a planned sweet treat or a fruit-based alternative drink is a fine trade while the habit shifts.

When cravings mean you should see a doctor

A learned craving is uncomfortable. Withdrawal is a medical issue. Talk to a doctor before cutting back if:

• you drink most of a bottle or more on most days;
• you get shaky, sweaty, anxious, sick or have a racing heart when you go without;
• you've had a seizure or confusion when stopping before;
• you need a drink in the morning to feel normal.

Stopping suddenly after long, heavy drinking can be dangerous, and a doctor can help you cut down safely. Doctors can also prescribe medicines approved to reduce cravings and drinking, such as naltrexone and acamprosate. NIAAA's free Alcohol Treatment Navigator helps you find care near you, and SAMHSA's free, confidential helpline is open around the clock: 1-800-662-4357.

Questions people ask

Why do I crave wine every night?

Usually because the habit is tied to a cue, like a time of day, a place, or a feeling such as stress or tiredness. The cue starts the wanting before you decide anything.

How long does a wine craving last?

Single cravings tend to rise and fade if you don't act on them, often over minutes rather than hours. Waiting 10 minutes and changing what you're doing is often enough to let one pass.

How long until I stop craving wine every night?

It varies a lot. Many people notice the pull weakens over the first couple of weeks of skipping nights, and keeps fading the longer the cue goes without the glass.

Is it a craving for sugar or for alcohol?

It can be both. Dry wine has little sugar, but many people do want something sweet in the evening after cutting back. Eating a proper meal earlier helps with both.

Does non-alcoholic wine make cravings worse?

For most people it helps, because it keeps the ritual. If the taste makes you want the real thing, choose something that doesn't taste like wine instead.

Can medicine help with wine cravings?

Yes, for people whose drinking is heavy or hard to control. Naltrexone and acamprosate are approved for alcohol use disorder; a doctor can tell you whether they fit.

More on drinking less: all our drink-less guides.

Sources: NIAAA, Rethinking Drinking (tips to try, handling urges to drink, standard drinks). NIAAA, Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder (DSM-5 criteria). NIAAA, Treatment for Alcohol Problems (approved medicines) and the Alcohol Treatment Navigator. Lally P. et al., "How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world," European Journal of Social Psychology, 2010. Marlatt G.A. and Gordon J.R., Relapse Prevention (urge surfing). SAMHSA National Helpline. This guide is general information, not medical advice.