Wine Alternatives vs. De-Alcoholized Wine
On some holidays growing up my parents would buy us sparkling Welch’s grape juice and you could hear us chanting “KIDS WINEEE” from our end of the table, ready to fill our champagne flutes to the brim. Fortunately for adults who do not drink, or are trying to drink less, there are now much better alternatives than grape juice. But just as picking out the right bottle of wine at a wine shop can be intimidating, it goes the same for non-alcoholic wine.
What is de-alcoholized wine?
De-alcoholized wine is normal wine with its alcohol removed using sophisticated processes in the winery (think decaf coffee). It’s made how all wine is made, the grapes are crushed, pressed, and fermented in which the yeast converts sugar into alcohol. After fermentation, the wine undergoes a specific process to have its alcohol removed. The three most common techniques are vacuum distillation, reverse osmosis, and cone spinning. With vacuum distillation, the wine is boiled at low temperatures which extracts the alcohol from the wine. Reverse osmosis pressurizes the wine and filters it through a membrane separating the water and ethanol from concentrated wine. The water is then added back to the wine. The spinning cone method involves a powerful centrifuge which first spins out all of the volatile and aroma compounds of the wine. Then the alcohol is spun out and the aroma compounds are added back to the wine.
Pros- de-alcoholized wine often does a good job of maintaining the texture of wine, as well as the polyphenols and other compounds that make wine taste like wine. Also, a good de-alcoholized wine will still connect you with the grapes grown and vineyards.
Cons- Even though wine de-alcoholization still leaves you with a product much like the wine we are used to, you will note the lack of alcohol and its impact on the taste. A beautiful wine is balanced between acid, sugars, tannins, and alcohol. So without the alcohol, you might notice the tannin or acidity out of balance. Additionally, these processes often remove aroma compounds and are also very energy/water intensive. Therefore, de-alcoholized wine costs similar to a normal bottle of wine as they cost just as much, if not more, to make.
What are ‘wine alternatives’?
‘Wine Alternative’ is a very broad label for any beverage that should be consumed like wine, but isn’t. It could be grape juice in which the fermentable sugars are reduced before fermentation, or the production of alcohol is reduced during fermentation, ending with a fermented grape product without alcohol, with either a sweeter taste or more of a kombucha vinegar taste. A more interesting wine alternative, in my opinion, is a balanced drink made from a variety of products, like fermented teas, bitters, juices, and vinegars all combining to provide a beverage with the same components of wine, a balance between acid, sugar, tannin, and alcohol. It’s still served in a wine bottle, you get the sensation of popping the cork, and the elegance of pairing something special with food. A brand called ‘Proxies’ has created a very interesting and diverse line of these alternatives, with dry, floral complex sparklings as well as richer, heavier textured reds. They have even collaborated with chefs like Dominique Crenn and Sean Brock to create beautiful pairings and Proxies are used as the NA wine pairing at the French Landry. This type of non-alc wine often has a kombucha or shrub-like quality that we often see in natural wine, and also like natural wine, the more open your mindset is going in, the more you are going to enjoy it.
Pros/Cons- More creativity. More eco-friendly (often). And although these don’t always come from grapes or are often less ‘wine-y’ than dealcoholized wine, I think it’s better because you aren’t comparing it as much. Instead of it being ‘kind of like a pinot noir but bitter and without alcohol’ it’s entirely its own experience.
My two-cents-
I’m curious to try more in this space as I haven’t tried many, but I am more excited about wine alternatives! For de-alcoholized wines, I will say that I prefer sparkling options, as the carbonation adds to festivity and helps mask some of the imbalance due to lack of alcohol, try Leitz’s Eins Zwei Zero, a sparkling riesling with crisp, citric acidity. As far as Wine Alternatives go, I was impressed by Proxies and would like to try more. I’m also inspired to try and concoct some of my own alternatives- let me know if that’s something you’re interested in!
Cheers!
Nicole