Wine Buying Guide

We're not sommeliers, but we have read & researched...and we've tried a lot of alcohol-free wines!  If you'd like to do some reading too, we've included a few links to get you started.  

I always appreciate the care & attention that goes into a Wirecutter review and this, on the non-alcoholic wine category, is no exception:  The Best Nonalcoholic Wines. It covers the basic categories of n/a wine and offers eight recommendations from the lineup of the 20 they tasted. 

Another great article that really puts the whole category of alcohol-free wine in perspective is the The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying Non-Alcoholic Wine by Carly & Ian from All the Bitter.  They are sommeliers who met while working at The French Laundry in Napa, so they know great wine and I'm so grateful they offered their point of view.  They now make 0.0% ABV classic cocktail bitters that you can purchase here.    

That said, here's a summary:

• Bubbles are your friend.  If you're new to alcohol-free wines or you've been disappointed in what you've tried in the past, try a sparkling wine.  The bubbles help to balance out some of the body that's lost after the alcohol has been removed.  You can shop our sparkling wines here.
• Focus first on white & rosé.  It's generally agreed that the most successful expressions of alcohol-free wine tend to be white and rosé.  The n/a reds have historically been harder to nail, so we suggest starting with white and rosé before exploring the n/a red category.  
• Added sugar (or juice) can help balance acidity & replace body.  One thing that's a giveaway that a wine is alcohol-free is unbalanced acidity.  When the alcohol is removed, all the the original acid that was present is still there, but it's completely out of balance with the residual sugars.  Some producers choose to balance acidity with sugar, others choose juices or some combination of the two.  Sugar can really go a long way to bring back the balance that's disputed in the dealcoholization process.  
• Explore wine alternatives.  After tasting many alcohol-free wines, I noticed I was really leaning into the wine alternatives.  Wine alternatives often resemble wine in terms of a balance between acidity, tannins and structure; they're generally made with some combination of teas, juices, kombucha, herbs & spices.  And because they aren't wine, I find its easier to spend more time enjoying and less time less time comparing!  You can find our selection of wine alternatives here.