Alcohol-Free "Wines" Offer Holiday Alternative

Filed in archive Wine News on December 2, 2007

I'm sure we've all been in a position where we were at some kind of holiday party and for whatever reason couldn't drink wine or another alcoholic beverage. Maybe you were pregnant or had health issues, or perhaps you were the designated driver. But next time you find yourself asking for a ginger ale at the bar, or bringing the Diet Coke to a party, you might want to consider alcohol-free wines. I know, I know. I can see you rolling your eyes. That was my first reaction, too. (I'm not even a fan of sparkling cider). But I suppose that it might be in interesting choice, considering the alternatives (soda, seltzer water, or juice). According to Fergus Clydesdale, head of the department of food science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (and one of my former professors!), alcohol-free wines just might deliver the same health benefits of real wine.

From The Cincinatti Post:

The same antioxidants found in regular wine also exist in alcohol-free wine. "If the same grapes were used," Clydesdale says, "the wine would have the same kind of phenolics. . ."

Typically, alcohol-free wine is made by extracting the alcohol through a filtering or vacuum process, while leaving the other components intact. By law, the wines must be less than one-half of 1 percent alcohol.

If you're curious and want to try some of the alcohol-free wines available, here are a few:

Carl Jung - The wine is made in Germany and available only online in the United States. Last year U.S. customers bought up 20,000 bottles according to the company's Internet sales manager.

Ariel Vineyards - A division of J. Lohr, Ariel wines are made from premium grapes grown in California, including cabernet from the Napa Valley and many other varietals from Sonoma, Paso Robles, Monterey and the Delta. Last year the company sold 1.2 million bottles of alcohol-free wine according to Craig Rosser, sales marketing director for Ariel and export director for J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines.

Fre - Made by Sutter Home, Fre wines are available online, as well as at many major retailers

Inglenook St. Regis - The St. Regis wines should also be available at larger liquor stores and readily available.

How do they taste, though? Well, the producers claim they're delicious. Apparently Ariel wines even won a gold medal at the L.A. County Fair in 2006. But I've also heard that they are bland, possibly due to the de-alcoholizing process.

Would you drink alcohol-free wines? Or would you just rather reach for the grape juice if you couldn't have a glass of wine?