This trend raises two pivotal questions: What is the evolving consumer’s relationship with alcohol? and can non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages replace the real thing?
First, allow me to share my relationship with alcohol. I'm one of those that condemns a wine that has alcohol levels higher than 13%, mostly because when I was learning about wine, about 22 years ago, medium alcohol levels were much lower than what they are today. On those days, anything above 13% was labeled as having high alcohol. Of course, things are very different now and mostly due to global warming, wines that used to be 12,5 %, reach 14% or more every year without any difficulty. This changed everything for me, as I prefer my wines to have lower alcohol levels. This is in part the reason why I love German and Austrian wines so much, because they are naturally low in alcohol, but still have all the flavor, the fruitiness and the acidity.
Of course, some may say high alcohol is not so noticeable, if there’s a balance or integration with the rest of the elements in wine. I found such cases rare. My love for acidity is so big that it has led me away from wines produced in warm regions, and therefore away from their high alcohol levels. Complicating matters to the worse, I can’t trust labels either, as producers can, by law, misstate alcohol content by up to 1% of what is declared. This means that even though a label may say that a wine has 12% ABV, the wine may indeed have 13%.
Consumers are also moving away from high-alcohol wines for various reasons, including health concerns, or a desire to reduce sugar intake and to consume fewer calories.
According to the IWSR, Millennials (ages 28-43) and Gen Z (ages 21-27) are two important groups that favor this trend of zero and low-alcoholic beverages, favoring products such as hard seltzers and zero alcoholic beer and wine.
To further grasp this, the IWSR categorizes and divides consumers in 4 groups, based on their consumption of low or zero alcoholic beverages:
1)Substituters: are those that switch between non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, depending on the occasion.
2)Triallers: are those who regularly consume alcoholic beverages but occasionally try non-alcoholic beverages.
3)Blenders are those that consume both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages at the same occasion.
4)Abstainers: are those who completely avoid alcohol.
To answer whether zero-alcohol wines can replace traditional wines, consider my recent experience with BevZero, a company that sells the technology and machinery to remove alcohol from beverages. They also offer consulting services to make all kinds of low and non-alcoholic wines and spirits.
Without giving all the technical data involved in the different processes to remove alcohol, it looks there are two ways to create a non-alcoholic wine 1) By using grape must or fruit juice without any fermentation, the final product is therefore sweet, and lacks the aromas and complexity, that wine usually obtains only through the fermentation process and 2) the wine is produced through fermentation (like any regular wine), but then alcohol is removed by filtering, vacuum distillation or by using reverse osmosis or other similar process. Unfortunately this process can also remove many of the wine’s flavors and personality. And there’s more, as sometimes, the process is completed by rebuilding the wine completely, by adding more flavorings and artificial additives to compensate for the alcohol loss, further compromising its integrity.
Always eager to taste something new, I decided to stop by the two Bev Zero booths at Vinexpo that had non-alcoholic wines and tasted some of the samples offered. I'm sorry to say, I was not impressed at all. I found many of these non-alcoholic wines to be overly artificial and sweet. However, my sampling was limited and could hardly be representative of the entire category. For the moment, non-alcoholic wine is not a category I will be actively seeking out, as for me they can’t replace the real thing. Now, low-alcohol wines are different, and this is in part why, I decided to include some recommendations at the end of this post.
To non-alcoholic wine producers, I encourage furthering your efforts to improve quality and authenticity. While I doubt non-alcoholic wines can replace traditional wine offerings currently, they could serve as a viable alternative for abstainers providing another option beyond soft drinks or lemonade.
Now, regarding non-alcoholic beers, my perspective differs, as I have to acknowledge the appeal of some of these, which also coincides with the growing popularity of them in countries like Spain and Germany. It seems non-alcoholic beers’ strong flavor and carbonation is more than enough to compensate for their loss of alcohol. I have the pleasure of tasting Coors Edge and Heineken 00 that are two of my favorites.
To wine producers in warm regions, keep monitoring sugar and acidity levels closely, as emphasizing elegance over power can enhance your wines’ appeal. Just my two cents on this and only my view!
My recommendations: it's a fine selection of three low-alcohol wines (with less than 10%ABV) tasted lately. Good for those that want to drink less alcohol and less calories per serving, without compromising any flavor!
Cavit Cloud 90 Pinot Grigio 2022, 9% ABV $10.99
Indulge in a light and refreshing Pinot Grigio, with only 90 calories per serving. Showcasing vibrant flavors of white peach, pear, and delicate floral notes, complemented by hints of honeydew melon, and finishing with bright, juicy acidity.
Yealands Lighter Sauvignon Blanc 2022, 9%ABV $ 15.99
Enjoy this outstanding Sauvignon Blanc crafted from grapes grown in Yealands' Awatere and Wairau Valley vineyards. Following a gentle pressing, this wine undergoes full fermentation in stainless steel vats to preserve its fruity character and delightful acidity. Captivating flavors of passionfruit and grapefruit, are complemented by herbaceous green pepper (pyrazines) undertones.
Lo Ca Chardonnay 2023 9% ABV, $14
Domaine Bousquet, the well known organic producer based in Mendoza, Argentina is behind the launching of the LoCa (abbreviated from Low Calories) line up made from organically certified grapes.
Savor this light-bodied white that showcases vibrant notes of golden pear, red apple, and meyer lemon, complemented by refreshing zesty acidity and soft mineral notes.
There's a red version of this wine made from Malbec grapes, which was not reviewed for this post.
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