Nonalcoholic wines that are worth a second glass

Spraying Champagne on winners at Formula One Grand Prix races is a long tradition. Ditto drinking bubbly while watching. But this year, in addition to Moet & Chandon Champagne, there’s a surprise: French Bloom was named the first alcohol-free sparkling vino of the auto racing series.

Which just goes to show that wines without alcohol are now part of a global movement that’s clearly entered the mainstream.

If your knee-jerk reaction is yuck, let me assure you that there’s been an uptick in the quality of nonalcoholic wine over the past couple of years. That’s my conclusion after recently sampling almost 60 examples. Just in time for Sober October, my picks for the best ones I’ve tasted so far are below.

There are more choices than ever — and more are coming — because winemakers see the big numbers. In a world of declining wine consumption, U.S. sales of nonalcoholic beverages grew 27.2% in 2024, on top of a 30% increase the previous year, according to Nielsen IQ.

One of the world’s most admired wine brands, Spain’s Familia Torres, announced earlier this year that it’s investing $7 million in a new winery dedicated to its alcohol-free wines. Bordeaux now has two top producers, Chateau Edmus and Clos de Bouard. The first-ever shop dedicated to no-alcohol wine, Les Belles Grappes, opened earlier this year. Chilean wine giant Concha y Toro has launched a zero-alcohol range, and there are many more in the works.

A focus on health and wellness and the World Health Organization’s controversial 2023 statement that there is no safe amount of alcohol consumption have spurred interest, but nobody wants to drink bad wine. Even a couple of years ago, most alcohol-free versions had weird, nasty aromas, seemed stripped of flavor or resembled fruit juice, and tasted way too sweet. (Some still do.) The sparkling wines were usually better (and still are) because the bubbles made up for a lack of body and texture.

So why are the wines getting better now? Well, technology is evolving quickly, and some of the world’s top winemakers, such as Germany’s Johannes Leitz and Johannes Selbach, Napa’s Aaron Pott and many others, have been giving the category a serious go. French Bloom, founded by Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger and Constance Jablonski, and now part owned by Moët Hennessy, is made by Maggie’s Champagne maker husband, Rodolphe, of Frerejean Freres Champagne house, and from the beginning has aimed for ultrapremium quality.

All these winemakers are constantly experimenting to discover what kinds of grapes and processes work best.

How quality nonalcoholic wine is made

The nonalcoholic wines I’m talking about start out as full-strength fermented wine, which is then taken apart to get the alcohol out and put back together. That’s more complicated than you might think.

“Alcohol is like a wine’s core,” explains Pott, who founded label Missing Thorn with vintner Stephanie Honig. “It holds together all a wine’s aspects — aroma, flavor, body —and taking it out strips the wine of personality and texture.” (Otherwise, what do you have? Grape juice.)

Not all varietals work equally well. “Riesling is the easiest, partly because it has great acidity,” he says — acidity provides a crisp, fresh taste that alcohol amplifies. “Light, aromatic grapes like albariño and pinot gris also work well, while heavier viognier and gewurztraminer don’t.”

For reds, Pott sees malbec as a better bet than cabernet sauvignon, pointing out that after the dealcoholizing process, a cabernet’s tannins become more prominent and taste harsher and greener.

And like any full-strength wine, the quality of the grapes counts for a lot. Some producers, especially in the past, used the least expensive bulk wine they could get, and the wines show it, says Mark Hutchens of New York importer Schatzi, which has several alcohol-removed wines in its portfolio.

With a few exceptions, wineries send their wine to a special facility to remove the alcohol. Germany has been the leader in production, but now you can find facilities in France and the United States, and the Italian government recently allowed Italian wineries to produce dealcoholized wines within the country.

There are a couple of ways to remove alcohol, but most wineries use a form of vacuum distillation, which was invented in Germany more than 110 years ago. It involves gently heating wine at low temperatures of about 70°F to 95°F to allow the separation of the aromas, the alcohol and the base wine. In vacuum distillation, alcohol boils at a much lower temperature than under normal atmospheric pressure, so delicate flavors are retained while the ethanol can be siphoned off.

A spinning cone column is a more advanced form of vacuum distillation that uses centrifugal force to turn the wine into thin films of liquid to strip out the compounds in two stages; the first removes aromas and flavors at a low temperature, then removes the alcohol at a higher temperature, and finally puts it back together without the alcohol. Many winemakers believe it’s gentler on the wine and superior in preserving the wine’s original character.

There’s also reverse osmosis, in which wine is forced at high pressure through a large membrane to separate components. Most winemakers I spoke with say this removes a lot of aroma and flavor and results in a thinner mouthfeel. But some, like Leitz, think the future will be in refining and perfecting membrane technology.

Some producers add in grape must (crushed juice that contains skins, seeds and stems and is rich in sugar) or grape juice concentrate and/or guar gum after dealcoholization to compensate the lost aroma, flavor and texture. The maker of French Bloom says he creates a base wine with exaggerated flavors and aromas so that losing some of them during the process doesn’t have such a big impact.

But technology is constantly being tweaked and improved. For instance, Rack & Riddle, a custom maker of sparkling wines for many California wineries, recently added nonalcoholic options using a patented “aroma capture” system from Solos Technology. It uses a filter to trap and collect aroma molecules after the vacuum distillation and then put them back into the final liquid.

What’s worth drinking and skipping?

Getting your hands on top bottles is easier than it used to be, thanks to chains of no-alcohol bottle shops such as the Zero Proof (online at thezeroproof.com), but many small European and Australian brands aren’t available yet. Restaurants are just beginning to stock good selections, and French Bloom can be found in many Michelin-starred spots.

What’s next in terms of quality? Leitz, a top riesling maker in the Rheingau, is now using its own estate grapes to give his eight nonalcoholic wines a sense of place, and next year the winemaker plans to release a single-vineyard example from Dragonstone (Drachenstein), famous for its quartzite soil.

As for what to skip? At the top for me are almost all so-called wine alternatives that are based on grape juice with added flavorings and ingredients. One example: Tethos Sauvignon Blanc tea (like flavored herbal tea).

Here are some I wouldn’t uncork again: Society de la Rossi sparkling chardonnay (no aroma, like sharp watery lemon juice), Libby non-alcoholic sparkling rosé (grape juice with bubbles), Fritz Muller Muller-Thurgau (smells like roasted coffee), Freixenet (neutral taste, aroma of canned pineapple juice) and Pierre Chavin Zero sparkling spritz (tastes like orange soda).

I judge nonalcoholic wines on how much they taste like “real” wine and whether I would happily drink another glass. At this point, I’m not looking for complexity and subtlety.

11 Top Nonalcoholic Wines to Seek Out Now

Dr. Fischer Steinbock Riesling Zero ($14)

This delicious, light white made from a fruity German riesling kabinett boasts attractive citrus and floral aromas and tangy fruity-mineral flavors. You could easily confuse it with a riesling that contains alcohol — I did. I’m also a fan of the savory and complex Steinbock Rosé Sparkling Zero.

J & H Selbach Funkelwurtz Zero ($19)

The name means spicy sparkler. Slightly fizzy and easy drinking, it’s a blend of aromatic muscat and rivaner (also called Muller-Thurgau) grapes grown in Germany’s Mosel region. Think crisp, refreshing and off-dry, with aromas of fresh bread and green plants, spicy apricot flavors and more complexity than most no-alcohol wines.

Ollivier Cottenceau Phénomène Melon de Bourgogne ($20)

Light and tart, this food-friendly white comes from the eighth generation of Muscadet makers at Domaine de la Grenaudiere. It’s the first dealcoholized wine made from melon de Bourgogne grapes; though technically a muscadet, it can’t be labeled as such. It has a delicate character with a touch of minerality and a smooth, attractive texture.

Weingut Leitz Zero Point Five Sauvignon Blanc ($23)

This white is a new wine made with grapes from the Pfalz region and has true sauvignon blanc character, with aromas of herbs, green citrus and tropical fruit flavors, and a hint of succulence in the finish. The Leitz Eins Zwei Zero lineup now includes four still and four sparkling wines — the riesling and sparkling rosé are especially enjoyable.

Oddbird Blanc de Blancs Sparkling ($25)

Among the 13 wines Oddbird offers, I rated this one at the top. The blend of chardonnay and colombard grapes from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France is lemony bright and crisp, with tones of granny smith apples, and delicate bubbles. I also liked the blend of five white varietals from Alsace and Provence labeled Presence.

Moderato La Cuvee Revolutionnaire Colombard ($25)

This French startup founded in 2020 exports five cuvees to the U.S., including this lively, fresh white that balances citrus, pear and peach flavor notes along with overtones of pear and peach.

2023 Bouchaine Vineyards Non-Alcoholic Estate Rosé ($25)

The first nonalcoholic wine from this producer in Napa’s Carneros region is a pretty bright coral color, it’s lush, and it shows off attractive strawberry flavor notes. Not brilliant, but appealing.

2024 Castello di Amorosa Libero Moscato ($27)

This fruity, round, attractively sweet Moscato from grapes grown in Mendocino’s cool Anderson Valley has lovely honeysuckle aromas and is perfect for sipping chilled.

Missing Thorn Sparkling White ($30), White ($25) and Red ($30)

When a top Napa winemaker and an innovative vintner team up to create a line of five nonalcoholic wines, you expect them to be good — and they are, but some are better than others. The sparkling white is my favorite, the still white a close second. The spicy, plummy red, made from malbec, is not as appealing, but it’s one of the best reds I’ve tried.

2023 Lorenza Alcohol-Removed Blanc de Blanc ($32)

The winery is known for delicious rosé wines, but this sparkler is based on the white grape Marsanne. It’s dry, fragrant and sophisticated with a crispy texture and citrus and pear flavor notes.

French Bloom L’Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs ($59)

The winery’s lineup now includes four cuvees. My favorite is this 100% organic chardonnay bubbly that made its debut earlier this year. You wouldn’t confuse it with Champagne, but it is mouth-filling, rich, precise, mineral and very dry, with hints of smoke and caramel.