So you wake up one hazy morning, head throbbing and stomach churning, swearing off alcohol forever. I’ve vowed it a thousand times, but somehow the lure of a great glass of wine washes that promise down my gullet. Many people, however, keep the promise.
Hordes of folks, from expectant mothers to dieters, have sworn off the evil juice, even though they like the taste of wine. They crave something more than soda to sink their tongue into. Enter non-alcoholic (NA) wine. There are many more NA wines these days than 20 years ago, and reports point to higher sales, but after tasting many of them, I wonder why.
Non-alcoholic wine starts off as regular wine. In order to remove the alcohol, wineries filter it, centrifuge it through a fancy machine, or burn off the alcohol like you would in cooking. To compensate for the loss in flavor caused by the high temperatures, they normally add back in fruit juice or flavor additives. It ends up a legally “non alcoholic” beverage when it weighs in lower than 0.5 percent alcohol. But even with this trace amount, it should be said that alcoholics are discouraged from drinking them.
The three biggest NA wineries are Ariel, Sutter Home’s Fre (pronounced “free”) and Inglenook’s St. Regis brand. There are a couple in Europe — Carl Jung from Germany and Meloni from Italy — but they’re harder to find on wine-shop shelves. When I bought my selection at a local megastore (it’s against my moral fiber to frequent these places, but they had the biggest selection), the NA wines were relegated to the back, where I stepped over several boxes and around a ladder to access them. They were also a bit dusty. So much for the report that people drink a lot of the stuff.
Most tasted like stale sangria that’s been soaking in the pitcher an hour, or simply like watered-down fruit juice. By all means, stay away from the sparkling wine. The Inglenook St. Regis even labeled its sparkler “Champagne” — Dom Pérignon’s rolling over in his grave. The whites, all made from Chardonnay, were more palatable than the reds, one of which (Inglenook St. Regis) caused my nose to tingle and me to sneeze. Hmmm…
But I must ask, “What’s the point?” I get the pregnancy thing, since your kid could end up riding the short bus, but, dieters, come on. There are between 60 and 80 calories in a 5-ounce glass of NA wine, compared with 120-150 for the fully leaded. So eat one less apple and you’ve made up your calorie shortfall. Or drink water. I’m not sure what the appeal is of non-alcoholic wine. Perhaps it’s the fancy glasses, but as a friend of mine suggested, you could pour apple juice into a long-stemmed wine glass and get the same effect.
The best reason for non-alcoholic wines? The ones you listed are good, however, there are those of us who are allergic (yes, allergic) to alcohol. I experienced this allergy after a serious bout with influenza. And the allergic reactions happen with just 2 – 3 sips of anything with alcohol in it. The non-alcoholic wines, specifically, St. Regis Vineyards selections are a better tasting group compared to Sutter Home Fre or the Ariel brand.
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Robin – Thank you so much for the feedback and I sympathize with your plight! If you’ve tried other NA wines other than those listed, please share. Cheers! Taylor
Recently drank non alcoholic St. Regis white Zinfandel and it was surprisingly excellent. We were on a cruise ship dining at their French restaurant. We don’t drink alcohol and years ago tried another St Regis NA brand that was terrible. They’ve definitely improved.
I have Atrial Fibrillation and alcohol is one of my main triggers. We enjoy our wine with dinner and I enjoy Fre almost as much. It has kept my incidences of arrhythmia to almost zero.
Do all reds have to be refrigerated? I prefer room temp when I drank reg reds. I can’t open and drink a whole bottle so it’s wasted.