In recent years, there’s been a growing interest in non-alcohol drinks.

Non-alcoholic beer has been a thing for decades.

Cocktails without alcohol can be found in almost any bar.

In recent years, you can add alcohol-free wines to this growing list.

In fact, sales of non-alcohol wines have grown dramatically in recent years.

Some people don’t drink alcohol any time of year.

Others choose to not drink alcohol certain times of the year, including this month, which some people now refer to as Dry January.

That’s why I thought now would be a great time to dive into the wide world of non-alcohol wines.

Along with several recommended no-alcohol wines, you can also learn more about how wine is made without alcohol.

So how do alcohol-free wines taste? In general, pretty good to outstanding in one particular case. Some of the prices also seemed a bit high for wines without alcohol, in my opinion.

Let me add that I think it’s best to think of alcohol-free wines as something different from wines with alcohol. They’re not bad, just different – sort of like the difference between white or red wines, port or sparkling wine. One isn’t better than the other. They’re simply unique.

Hope you enjoy.

How popular are alcohol-free wines?

The short answer? Increasingly popular. In recent years, sales figures for alcohol-free have skyrocketed. In 2022, consumers purchased 23 percent more alcohol-free wines that year compared to the year before, according to data collected by Nielsen Consumer LLC.

However, it is important to note that the market for alcohol-free beverages (which includes no-alcohol wine, beer and spirits) is still relatively small compared to the total alcohol market. Overall, the sale of all non-alcohol beverages accounted for 0.47 percent of total alcohol sales in 2022, according to Nielson Consumer.

What is alcohol in wine?

First, it’s important to understand how alcohol gets into wine. Remember, wine is made with grapes. So why does wine have alcohol but grape juice does not?

One word – fermentation.

During the fermentation process – which often takes one to two weeks – yeast breaks down sugar. The result is a byproduct called ethanol.

Ethanol is what makes alcohol in wine. Or rather, yeast turns sugar into alcohol (ethanol) during fermentation.

Most winemakers add yeast during the fermentation process. However, there are a very small number of winemakers who simply allow natural yeasts to develop during the fermentation process.

How is alcohol-free wine made?

In order to make alcohol-free wine, ethanol must be removed after the fermentation process. Again, without fermentation, wine would not be wine. It would simply be grape juice.

Many winemakers call this process dealcoholization. This is why some winemakers refer to alcohol-free wines as dealcoholized wines.

As you can expect when it comes to wine, there’s no one single way every winemaker removes alcohol from wine.

After fermentation, some alcohol-free winemakers chill the wine, spin it and vacuum out the ethanol.

Other winemakers heat the wine slightly in order to evaporate the ethanol. However, winemakers who use this dealcoholization process need to be extremely careful since extreme heat can ruin a wine and destroy all its wonderful flavors.

Tasting notes for alcohol-free wines

A quick overall observation. As I noted above, I think it’s important to think about alcohol-free wines as being their own distinct category. In general, if you like natural wines and hard ciders, I think you’ll like a lot of these no-alcohol wines. Here are my individual wine notes.

Giesen New Zealand Pinot Grigio ($16 Suggested Retail Price)

Location: New Zealand

Grapes: Pinot grigio

Tasting notes: Delightful, aromatic, floral wine with tart apple-like flavor and aroma. Very subtle and not too sweet. A great alcohol-free wine to introduce people to these types of wines.

Noughty Dealcoholized Blanc ($24.99 SRP)

Location: South Africa

Grapes: 55% chenin blanc and 45% chardonnay

Tasting notes: Extremely tart, crisp wine with green apple-like flavors with a zingy, slightly-sweet yet also dry, cider-like finish.

Saint Viviana Sauvignon Blanc ($22.99 SRP)

Location: Washington

Grapes: Sauvignon blanc

Tasting notes: Intense, bold, hard cider-like flavor with a hint of sourness. Great wine with spicy foods or anything with concentrated flavors.

Saint Viviana Cabernet Sauvignon ($22.99 SRP)

Location: Paso Robles, California

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting notes: Light, floral red wine with hints of cherry and raspberry. Almost Beaujolais like in flavor and aroma. Over time in the glass, those flavors become woodsy and softer.

French Bloom Alcohol-Free Sparkling Wine, Le Rose ($44 SRP)

Location: Southwest France

Grapes: Blend of chardonnay and pinot noir

Tasting notes: My favorite wine of the tasting, this bright, lively, fresh, floral sparkling wine hits all the right notes. Flavors and aromas are subtle and include hints of rose petals and peach. A truly delightful French sparkling wine that just happens to not have any alcohol.

Cheers!

Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican’s Weekend section every Thursday.

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