Non-Alcoholic Wines I Actually Drink as a Wine Professional
I was recently asked by a close friend to taste and test a variety of non-alcoholic wines. At first, it wasn’t a full hell yeah. It was more of my intent curiosity on the product. I know many wine professionals who won’t call these products wine, and that’s fine. I do understand why, but I don’t want to get into those nuances. I believe non-alcoholic wines can exist alongside traditional vitis vinifera wine. The wine industry’s issues aren’t ready to drink beverages or non-alcoholic wines. The problem is continuing to operate as an industry presenting wines in a non-approachable way to most consumers. I can hear the collective gasps of the wine elitist in my ears.
Personally, you can always catch me drinking sparkling wine in any form. Big bottles, small bottles, or cans. If it has bubbles, I want to drink it. But, as I have gotten older and looking to support my health in the long term, I can’t drink multiple glasses of wine on a daily basis. Add in alcohol is a key factor in hot flashes for menopausal women and this is where I am in my life. Therefore, I was really curious about sparkling non-alcoholic wines the most.
In Houston, there is a store called Sipple and this is where I purchased the majority of the non-alcoholic wines. The store also sell non-alcoholic beer, spirits, and wine. I was definitely intrigued and I know more of these stores will be popping up in the future. I plan to visit Spirited Away in NYC next month.
At first, I was hesitant to take on this task. I didn’t want to bring a bias into these wines. I see enough wine biases with people in my industry. I see the constant attitude of putting wine in various boxes of elitism, judgment, and posturing. I can admit I have done it and I made a conscious decision to stop. I tossed those out the wine glass box.
I would like to preface this by stating, if you are not a wine drinker, I don’t believe non-alcoholic wines will convert you. Most of these are made as a traditional wine and then the alcohol is removed.
I enjoy canned wine. My process of drinking canned wine is the same for the non-alcohol versions. I open the can and allow the wine to “blow off.” Meaning, I don’t immediately start drinking it. I also go between pouring it in a glass or consume straight from the can.
My tasting started with Sovi. Sovi makes wine in bottles and cans. My preference was the Sovi Red Blend (can). My issue with most of the canned sparkling wines is the bubbles dissipate to fast for me. An enjoyment of sparkling wine is watching the bubbles in my glass and the cans just didn’t have enough pressure. Many sparkling canned wines use a forced carbonation method and I think these cans can benefit from it. The bottled Red Blend was not bad, but one thing the wine lacked was structure and body, which you get from alcohol.
Am I going full non-alcoholic? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
What I am doing is enjoying both styles of wine and everything in moderation. If we can have numerous brands of bougie water, we can have beverages with and without alcohol. If you’ve been on the non-alcoholic wine fence, I understand. But don’t discount them.
Here are my top non-alcoholic wines.
Oddbird Blanc de Blancs. My top choice is Oddbirds Blanc de Blancs. I tasted this wine after tasting Raventos í Blanc de Blancs 2020 and Raventos í Blanc de Nit Rosé 2020. I wanted to do a side by side comparison regarding texture and bubble structure. And to my sheer shock, the Oddbird delivered. It actually over delivered. I was impressed with the bubbles, taste, and structure of this non-alcoholic wine. I was so impressed I actually purchased a few more bottles and now it is a staple. After traveling and still wanting a glass of wine, I reach for this.
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