In the rising tide of non-alcoholic beverages — a category that has demonstrated exponential growth since Britain first linked the words “dry” and “January” to a seismic effect in 2013 — non-alcoholic wine has tended to lag behind N/A beer and spirits in both production and sales.
“2021 and 2022 in particular saw immense growth in the non-alcoholic wine category as consumers increasingly reduced their alcohol consumption,” says Jennifer Hohman, director of marketing for non-alcoholic wine brand FRE. “The demand for quality wine alternatives at top-tier restaurants continues to grow, not only in January but year-round,” adds Charlie Friedmann, president of Acid League Proxies.
Not all non-alcoholic wines are created equal, however, with differing approaches and processes resulting in products that are as varied as the world of traditional wine itself. Here, we look at three different approaches to crafting no-ABV vino.
Varietal grape juice
Anderson Valley’s Navarro Vineyards has offered Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer juice long before the phrase “sober curious” entered our lexicon. While varietal grape juice made from vitis vinifera grapes wasn’t necessarily developed to be a wine replacement, it nonetheless represents an interesting option for those seeking an alternative.
Jim Klein, Navarro’s winemaker, recalls that winery owners Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn began making the wine alternative as early as 1981. “They wanted to have grape juice for the kids,” he says, not only for their own children who were growing up among the vineyards, but also to offer to families visiting their tasting room. As a nuanced juice option, it gained an early following among chefs, with Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse being one of the first adopters to serve it in the dining room, and which — along with other fine- dining restaurants throughout the country — still carries Navarro’s grape juice.
In terms of its production, “it’s not an easy product to make, because we don’t just put it in a tank and forget about it until bottling season,” says Klein. “We actually try to make a real effort to filter it and take it from vineyard to bottle within about 15 to 21 days, so when you taste our grape juice, it’s a fairly similar experience to what we get right out of the press pan.”
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