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From the Winter 2022-23 issue of AFTER Magazine
Alcohol-free sparkling wine has long been the darling of the AF wine industry. As manufacturers perfect ways to keep the characteristics of wine after the alcohol is removed, sparkling wines have the advantage of carbonation and bubbles to carry flavors and bring a light sensation to the experience. Here, Izzy from Sobertopia (formerly My Bubbly Pop) shares a few of her current favorites from her extensive exploration.
Click links to try each one!
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A non-alcoholic, organic and vegan sparkling rosé made with 100% organic Tempranillo grapes from southern Spain. Noughty was founded by female entrepreneur Amanda Thomson and has been growing tremendously ever since it was launched in 2019.
The rosé has a lovely, pale pink color and is light, easy to drink, and very bubbly. Noughty Rosé is not too sweet, and fruity with the perfect amount of tartness. I love it!
French Bloom was created by top model Constance Jablonski and foodie entrepreneur Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger. This sophisticated alcohol-free sparkling wine made from a blend of organic wines from France is put through a manual dealcoholization process to maintain the original flavors. The bottle is elegant and would make a perfect gift. Le Rosé has a depth that is hard to come by in non-alcoholic wines. It starts with a fresh, slightly fruity taste which then moves into a well-balanced tartness. The finish is dry with a hint of peach.
Izzy’s Notes: Of the non-alcoholic wine options, the sparkling versions—especially the pink ones—are in my opinion, the most similar to “the real thing.” I think that’s because the bubbles masquerade the absence of alcohol. That said, dealcoholization technologies are rapidly improving, leading to high quality non-alcoholic still wines as well.
In addition to wines with bubbles, I’m totally in love with the new phenomenon of tea with bubbles, a.k.a ´Sparkling Tea,´ so I’ve added my favorite sparkling tea to the list too.
Sparkling Tea is an innovative drinks category developed by the award-winning Danish sommelier Jacob Kocemba. The sparkling teas, bottled in a proper champagne bottle, showcase Kocemba´s creativity through the use of exclusive Asian teas, hand-brewed to create the perfect taste and feel. BLÅ includes jasmine, white tea and Darjeeling, and uses a selection of 13 teas in total. This beverage has a beautiful, light green color, active bubbles, fresh black tea on the nose, and a flavor profile of jasmine, green tea, and a hint of lemon. BLÅ has a lot of depth and is an excellent alternative to Champagne as an apéritif.
Located in Denver, Colorado, and produced in Canada, Grüvi offers an extensive range of non-alcoholic beverages, from beers to cocktails to wines. I tried and loved their Bubbly Rosé. This rosé has never been fermented, so it has 0% ABV. It is super delicious, bubbly, fruity and fresh with an acidic bite to it.
Conveniently offered in 275ml bottles, this is a great drink to take to a party—you can drink it straight from the bottle!—or to have at home when you don´t want to open a full-sized bottle.
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Last but not least is Prima Pavé, another female-founded enterprise. Founder Dejou Marano is a CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine) and it shows. These bubbles are handcrafted in northern Italy and blended from elegant Italian grape varietals. One hundred percent of the alcohol is removed, using a one-of-a-kind additive-free method. Prima Pavé Rosé Brut bottles have a pretty label and the wine is a beautiful, light salmon color. It smells like a rosé and has lively, tiny bubbles. The taste is fruity and tart, my favorite combination, and finishes crisp and dry.
Removing alcohol from wine adds painstaking steps to the alchemy of winemaking. There are three main methods by which this is done:
Reverse Osmosis
Wine is pumped through a membrane that allows water and alcohol to pass through, but not the essential compounds of the wine that give it flavor and texture. Those compounds are later returned to the wine after the alcohol is at a level below 0.5% ABV.
Vacuum Distillation
Wine is sent through a heated vacuum chamber in two passes. One sweep takes out the volatile compounds which are added back in after the second pass through the heated chamber removes the alcohol.
Spinning Cone
Characteristic wine essences are removed by spinning the wine in an ultra-thin layer over a column of cones. In a second pass over the cones, the alcohol is taken out. The essence and wine are reintroduced afterwards, creating the dealcoholized wine.
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