A Taste, Or Not, Of Non-Alcoholic Wines

By TOM MARQUARDT and PATRICK DARR

More consumers are turning to non-alcoholic wines in hopes of finding the same enjoyment as wine but without the buzz that jeopardizes health. But for now, it may be an elusive dream to think that a wine without alcohol tastes no different than wine with alcohol. Our nightmare through more than a dozen of alcohol-less wines convinced us you will waste a lot of money searching for something that’s not yet possible.

Let’s examine how winemakers produce non-alcoholic wine.

Alcohol, specifically ethanol, comes when yeasts ferment the sugar in grapes. A wine will generally have about 14 percent ethanol. It gives the wine body, palate weight, flavor and a viscous texture that makes a wine complement food better. Take away the ethanol and you have a flat, acidic juice. So much of what we tasted was just weird: off-putting aromas, no body or dimension, sweet and cloying, no likeness to wine.

Non-alcoholic wines have been around for decades, but the system to remove the alcohol has evolved considerably.  If you insist on finding a good non-alcoholic wine, it is important to identify the process by reading the label carefully.

The simple method is for a producer not to ferment the grapes. There is no alcohol to begin with. There may not even be any grapes in the “wine.” These products are labeled “alcohol-free” and are indisputably the worst.

The alternative is for the producer to ferment the wine as normal, and then remove the alcohol through one of several methods. First, they can boil the wine, which is as unappetizing as it sounds. Second, they can use vacuum distillation which heats the wine at a lower, more friendly temperature. Third, they can use reverse osmosis to filter out the ethanol – a common practice used in nearly half the wine produced to slightly lower the alcohol.

The final, and probably the more favored process, is to take out the alcohol using a centrifuge with spinning and fixed cones. About .5 percent alcohol by volume is left, which makes it legally a non-alcoholic wine. These wines are labeled “alcohol removed.”

Although these wines were better in our tasting, it defies logic to think you can make a wine taste like a wine after you remove ethanol and all the compounds that go with it. To bring some semblance to the product, winemakers have been adding various ingredients, such as grape juice, bitters and tannins. Carbonation can lift mouthfeel as well. But, in the end, it’s a concoction that has little resemblance to wine.

If you are insistent, look first for sauvignon blanc and sparkling wine. The basic elements of a sauvignon blanc – citrus, grass, grapefruit – seem to survive the alcohol removed process more intact. Carbonation, like that found in sparkling wine, gives the product texture.

By far, the best beverage we found that most closely resembled wine was Cupcake Vineyards Alcohol-Removed Sauvignon Blanc. It had pleasant citrus aromas and grapefruit, lime flavors. After tasting and dumping a dozen other non-alcoholic wines, we were shocked by their quality. It has grape concentrate and preservatives.

We also liked the Nooh by La Coste ($30), a terrific alcohol removed rosè from Provence. This wine reveals the classic red fruit character that comes from refreshing rosès from southern France. La Coste also makes a sparkling wine that is pretty tasty.

Two alternatives you may enjoy are Giesen Dealcoholized New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Ariel Dealcoholized Chardonnay made by J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines. The Ariel is also gluten-free and has a third of the calories of alcoholized wine. But you have to judge these two wines – as well as most others – by not how close they resemble wine but whether you just like them for what they are.

You’re going to spend a lot of money wading through these struggling attempts to appeal to your palate and let’s hope you find one you enjoy or have the patience to wait until producers perfect this side hustle.

There are alternatives. You can simply drink fewer alcoholic beverages. You can drink wines with less alcohol – prosecco, for instance, has about 9 percent alcohol versus 13 percent for most wines.  Avoid zinfandel, which can have as much as 17 percent alcohol.  You can try one of the many emerging wines that have reduced alcohol to around 6 percent – Bread & Butter has a Sliced Chardonnay with 9 percent alcohol that has sweet, tropical fruit flavor and lots of vanilla. Finally, you can abandon wine for seltzer or you can simply keep drinking wine and hope for the best.

This is an evolving industry that will get better as producers scramble to find the right recipe and the right techniques that deliver something closer to alcoholized wine. We wish we could say there is a miracle wine, other than Cupcake, that can serve as the perfect substitute.

Try them and judge whether they are for you. Good hunting.

Wine picks

If we are going to drink less wine, we are going to drink better wine. Here are some choices:

Postmark Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 2022 ($30). Made mostly from cabernet sauvignon, this affordable wine from a popular region in California has juicy raspberry and blueberry flavors with a hint of cassis and chocolate.

La Crema Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County 2022 ($45). Known best for its pinot noirs, La Crema’s new cabernet sauvignon is a hit. Dark in color, it is blended with some merlot to round the edges. Cherry and red currant notes with a hint of coffee.

Cuvaison Pinot Noir 90.1 Napa Valley 2022 ($80). Name after a unique variety of pinot noir from the Chambertin vineyard of France, this yummy estate wine has bright raspberry notes augmented by strawberry and chocolate.