Low alcohol drinks can also be very tasty
Zeno Alcohol Liberated Red (£10.49, zenowine.com) It may not quite live up to breakthroughs in nuclear fusion energy or research in cure for Alzheimer's disease, but the wine industry has been slowly closing in on a goal that has long seemed out of reach: to create alcohol-free wine that people might choose to drink for pleasure rather than duty. . The prize for any brands that could crack the code is significant: a share of a low and no-alcohol market that is expected to reach around £450m in the UK by the end of this year. Certainly at this time of year, when so many wine drinkers attend one of the two great annual sobriety festivals, Dry January (the other being Sober October), any product that can offer all the other Only vinous things their favorite drink offers apart from alcohol are worth their weight in gold. Most non-sparkling wine brands miss this mark. Newcomer Zeno's red, however, comes very close. I mean, it's that Zeno's red didn't quite pass the blind taste test I asked my family to submit it to: in a range of "normal" red wines with an alcohol level between 13 and 14%, it still stands out as something else. . It still doesn't quite have the same weight and impact on the palate as its alcoholic peers. All the same, once recalibrated, I found it a very pleasant sip with food. Basically, it's dry, and it has tannins, spice, and red fruits that add some complexity. Oddbird's Domaine de la Prade, a blend of Shiraz and Merlot that has real succulence, as well as a touch of toasty oak and some herbal and peppery notes that are the quintessential flavors of the Languedoc region where it comes from.
Belle & Co Sparkling Rosé (from £3.99, Morrisons, Budgens, Londis, Booths, Iceland, Ocado) Regarding non-alcoholic white wines, I'm not sure anyone has done better than my two reserve picks of the last few years: the racy, apple and lime wine from German winemaker Johannes Leitz - flavored Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Alcohol - Free Riesling Alc Vol 0.0% (£6.99, Waitrose) and Natureo White's lightly floral muscat from Spanish wine giants Torres (from £6.00, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose). But the non-alcoholic wines I drank most of the last year are all sparkling, in part because the bubbles are an easy way to add some of the texture that the mouthfeel lacks due to the absence of alcohol. Among the best I've tried recently is another form of the Oddbird range, the Oddbird Alcohol-Free Sparkling Rosé NV (£12.99 or £9.99 as part of a mixed case of 12 bottles, laithwaites.co.uk) with candied currants and creamy mousse. For value, I'd go for the refreshing, fun and juicy strawberry blend of unfermented grape must and tea that is Belle & Co Sparkling Rosé.
Follow David Williams on Twitter @Daveydaibach
Zeno Alcohol Liberated Red (£10.49, zenowine.com) It may not quite live up to breakthroughs in nuclear fusion energy or research in cure for Alzheimer's disease, but the wine industry has been slowly closing in on a goal that has long seemed out of reach: to create alcohol-free wine that people might choose to drink for pleasure rather than duty. . The prize for any brands that could crack the code is significant: a share of a low and no-alcohol market that is expected to reach around £450m in the UK by the end of this year. Certainly at this time of year, when so many wine drinkers attend one of the two great annual sobriety festivals, Dry January (the other being Sober October), any product that can offer all the other Only vinous things their favorite drink offers apart from alcohol are worth their weight in gold. Most non-sparkling wine brands miss this mark. Newcomer Zeno's red, however, comes very close. I mean, it's that Zeno's red didn't quite pass the blind taste test I asked my family to submit it to: in a range of "normal" red wines with an alcohol level between 13 and 14%, it still stands out as something else. . It still doesn't quite have the same weight and impact on the palate as its alcoholic peers. All the same, once recalibrated, I found it a very pleasant sip with food. Basically, it's dry, and it has tannins, spice, and red fruits that add some complexity. Oddbird's Domaine de la Prade, a blend of Shiraz and Merlot that has real succulence, as well as a touch of toasty oak and some herbal and peppery notes that are the quintessential flavors of the Languedoc region where it comes from.
Belle & Co Sparkling Rosé (from £3.99, Morrisons, Budgens, Londis, Booths, Iceland, Ocado) Regarding non-alcoholic white wines, I'm not sure anyone has done better than my two reserve picks of the last few years: the racy, apple and lime wine from German winemaker Johannes Leitz - flavored Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Alcohol - Free Riesling Alc Vol 0.0% (£6.99, Waitrose) and Natureo White's lightly floral muscat from Spanish wine giants Torres (from £6.00, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose). But the non-alcoholic wines I drank most of the last year are all sparkling, in part because the bubbles are an easy way to add some of the texture that the mouthfeel lacks due to the absence of alcohol. Among the best I've tried recently is another form of the Oddbird range, the Oddbird Alcohol-Free Sparkling Rosé NV (£12.99 or £9.99 as part of a mixed case of 12 bottles, laithwaites.co.uk) with candied currants and creamy mousse. For value, I'd go for the refreshing, fun and juicy strawberry blend of unfermented grape must and tea that is Belle & Co Sparkling Rosé.
Follow David Williams on Twitter @Daveydaibach
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