On my journey to find which “Wines” to try, I searched for recommendations. With food and drink, we all have our preferred tastes, so instead of listening to just one writer, my method of ranking the top non-alcoholic wines was to see which wines were featured the most. After all, if enough people recommend the same thing, there must be something in it, right?
Are Non-Alcoholic Wines Just Juice?
So before we start diving into the top un-wines, let’s talk about what they are.
Non-alcoholic drinks are generally a blend of fruits and sugar – the argument can definitely be made that it’s juice. However, it’s more a lifestyle drink than it is the content. Beyond just pressing fruit for liquid, these non-alcoholic drinks, or “UnWines”, started out originally as wine, but through a dealcoholization process becomes an UnWine.
The challenge with UnWines is that once you remove the alcohol from a drink, you remove the depth of a drink or the viscosity. Imagine taking the fat off a delicious steak, is it still a steak? Yes, but the lean muscle just doesn’t taste the same as a steak with a great blend of fat and lean meat. Same with wine – the alcohol holds a lot of the texture and flavor of the wine. Once the alcohol is removed, the taste is very different. It’s up to the maker of an UnWine to use flavors, to return the complexity of a wine.
Most Featured Non-Alcoholic Wines
Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon (Non-Alcoholic Red Wine)
- Method: Reverse Osmosis, Less than 0.5% ABV
- Nutrition: 52 calories / 8 oz. serving
- Price: $9.00 per bottle on their website (No free shipping)
- Produced in: California
According to their website, the Ariel brand for non-alcoholic wine began to gain popularity around 1986. With over 36 years of experience crafting non-alcoholic wine, I have high hopes for this to be a delicious un-wine.
On their website, they state, “ARIEL dealcoholized wines, also rich in polyphenols, became an ideal alternative for those who wanted to incorporate red wine into their diets for its health benefits, but did not desire to drink alcohol every day.”
The ARIEL oak-aged Cabernet Sauvignon offers aromas of black currants, cherry, blueberries and chocolate, with soft tannins and a dry finish. They recommend that you try it with manchego, carne asada, Texas chili, and wood-fired pizza.
Noughty Alcohol Free Sparkling Chardonnay (Non Alcoholic Sparkling White Wine)
- Method: Vacuum Distillation, 0.0% ABV
- Nutrition: 14 calories / 3.4 oz. serving
- Price: $20.00 per bottle from Boisson
- Produced in: Spain by an English Company
- Worth Noting: alcohol-free, organic, vegan, halal, and low sugar
In comparison to other parts of the world, Non-alcoholic wines are fairly new in America. but they have been produced and consumed in Europe for a white. Recently the trend has finally caught on here in the states. You can blame the lag on tough regulations or the massive companies that control most wine brands. For these companies, unless a product has a proven track record of profitability, they will not invest.
Noughty alcohol-free organic vegan sparkling Chardonnay was created in 2019 – much later than the Ariel brand. They focus on creating a “good” alcohol and went all in – low sugar, vegan, and organic, hence the price tag for 1 bottle.
“With 2.9g of sugar per 100ml, it has almost half the sugar content of other non-alcoholic sparkling wine. And with just 14 calories per glass, it’s the perfect answer to a hangover-free celebration”
Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Riesling
(Non Alcoholic White Wine)
- Method: Vacuum Distillation, 0.1% ABV
- Nutrition: 24 calories / 100 ml (3.4 oz)
- Price: $18 / bottle at Boisson NYC
- Produced in: Germany
Just like the Noughty wines, Leitz Eins Zwei also comes from Europe – Germany to be exact. The Leitz vineyard and story stretches far into history dating back to as early as 1744, but the story of this wine starts in 1985 when Johannes Leitz took over. The EINS-ZWEI-DRY brand became one of the namesakes for the winery. As the technology for removing alcohol from wine became available, EINS-ZWEI-ZERO was produced with the same Riesling and became the sister brand.
“The Leitz EINS-ZWEI-ZERO offers an appealing character that is clean and fresh with notes of lime and citrus, accompanied by little hints of red apples on an underlying mineral base. The finish is slightly off-dry and relatively long. As we all know, like fat, alcohol is a transporter of flavor, and without it, there needs to be something else to carry those flavors. Residual sugar does the work for this stunning Riesling, though the sugar is nearly eaten up by acidity. It retains its wine-like aromas: orange citrus, slightly rhubarb and tarragon.”
Giesen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
(Non-Alcoholic White Wine)
- Method: Spinning Cone, 0.1% ABV
- Nutrition: 19 calories / 5 oz
- Price: $13.49 / bottle
- Produced in: New Zealand
This New Zealand brand Giesen, pronounced geese-in, is the first wine on this list that uses the spinning cone alcohol removal technology. According to the Giesen website, they were the first winery in New Zealand to purchase this technology in 2021.
How does their spinning cone technology work?
- We make a delicious, full-strength New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with the distinctive flavors and aromas we love.
- We use innovative spinning cone technology to gently distill the wine into layers: AROMA, ALCOHOL, BODY
- We carefully collect that delicate Sauvignon Blanc aroma and add it back into the body of the wine (minus the alcohol!)
- We add just a touch of premium grape juice to round out the final blend. There you have it! Delish.
“This non-alcoholic Sauvignon Blanc has delicate aromas of fresh lime, redcurrant and lemon shortbread. Delicious citrus flavors with distinct blackcurrant and passionfruit notes are followed by a crisp, dry finish. It’s mouthwateringly juicy and bright – a light, fresh, and invigorating non-alcoholic wine.”
Fre Brut Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wine
(Non Alcoholic Sparkling White Wine)
- Method: Spinning Cone, 0.5% ABV
- Nutrition: 70 calories / 8 oz
- Price: $8.00/ bottle
- Produced in: California
Just like the Giesen wines, Fre is also produced with the spinning cone technology. Although it is last on our top 5 list, it’s worth mentioning that Fre is a brand owned by the 4th largest wine company in America. Trinchero Family Estates also owns well-noted brands such as Ménage à Trois Wines and Sutter Home, the newly launched California Roots, and a second alcohol-removed wine brand, Luminaria. In true “Second-Best” fashion they’ve quickly adopted the latest in the wine trend.
The non-alcoholic sparkling wine is described on the website:
“The cascading bubbles and delicate effervescence of our alcohol-removed sparkling wine elevates any occasion. A fragrant bouquet of green apple and ripe pear is balanced by a crisp palate of apples and strawberry. This bubbly is beautifully balanced with a dry, refreshing finish.”
Our winemakers carefully craft this Sparkling Brut using traditional methods; then our exclusive spinning cone process gently removes the alcohol while preserving the wine’s delicate aromas and flavors. Pairing: Creamy seafood pastas, sushi, fried chicken, nutty cheeses, potato blinis with caviar, or simply potato chips.”
Who recommends non-alcoholic wines?
According to Google Trends, the search for non-alcoholic wines are on the rise. This rise in interest for unwind may be related to a social trend #dryjanuary and also an overall conscious decision to make healthier food and drink options.
The full list of publications ranges from specifically non-alcoholic blogs to news publications, food and drink magazines, and even trendy lifestyle blogs, in ABC order.
Advanced Mixology, BBC Good Food, Blacktail NYC, California Winery Advisory, Club Oenologique, Coravin, Delish, Eating Well, Food & Wine, Food 52, Food Network, Good Stuff Drinks, Good Housekeeping, Liquor.com, Los Angeles Drink, Los Angeles Times, Men’s Journal, NY Times, One Year No Beer, Pure Wow, Refinery29, Reviewed, Rolling Stone, Sip Yours, Sober Girl Society, Tasting table, The Beer Chicks, The Drum, The Guardian, The Healthy, The Kitchn, The Manual, The Zero Proof, The Zoe Report, Town & Country, Traveling Corkscrew, Truly Experiences, Vine Pair, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Turtle, and Women’s Health Magazine.
There is a BUT. Just because a non-alcoholic beverage is covered by magazines, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the best. Did you know that magazines get paid to write and feature specific brands and even products in their articles? Let me introduce you to the magic of affiliate links.
As I try each of these non-alcoholic wines, I’ll update you with a review and my recommendation of whether it’s worth giving them a try! I’ll also include pairing recommendations, especially those given by the producers themselves. Have a recommendation that didn’t make it on this list? Give us a shout!