With the holidays approaching, I am going to spend time trying non-alcoholic wines in the hope of helping the holiday season pass by in a jolly manner. With so much delicious foods to enjoy, from the Thanksgiving Feast to the Christmas overindulgence, I am looking forward to turkey with all the trimmings, apple pie, cheese and charcuterie, honey-roast ham, Christmas pudding and of course lashings of chocolates. All my favourite foods to pair with what used to be my favourite drink: wine.
Jammy red wine.
Crisp white wine.
Deliciously drinkable rosé.
Dry, cold bubbly.
I love them all. Wines for every occasion. My drink of choice. A friend, greatly missed.
Cheap as Chips
In the early days of my drinking past, wine had a big role to play. When I was at university, my friend Ella and I would go out dancing on the weekend and spend only £5 each in getting our buzz on so we could boogie. The local grocery store had cheap wine which it sold 2 for £5. I guess this was the UK’s version of Two Buck Chuck. We would generally buy two red and two white to share, chugging the cheap wine at home before heading out to the nightclub.
Not so fine on white wine
In my early career, I would choose to drink white wine on a night out with friends. It got me drunk nice and fast and was easy drinking. I would opt for Pinot Grigio and add ice cubes if it was too warm or too cheap to enjoy. This tipple often led to me being too drunk and would be my fight night drink, leaving me argumentative and a pain in the arse. Saying things I shouldn’t, falling out with friends. As mentioned in tea, glorious tea, the advertising agency I worked in had a terrific bar that had “Buy One Get One Free” Thursdays which extended to bottles of rosé which we would swig all night long. High ABV, highly drinkable, highly dangerous. With that recipe for success, I would inevitably get super drunk and again, be a pain the arse.
How’d we end up on the floor anyway? You say “Your roommate’s cheap-ass screw-top rosé, that’s how”
Maroon, Taylor Swift
Wine snobbery
Later in my career, wine was elevated into something more sophisticated as I had the opportunity to visit vineyards around the world and learn more about the glorious grape. I tasted wine in Australia, France, South Africa, Greece, Brazil, California and Mexico. I learned the correct way to hold my wine glass so I fit in with pretentious nobheads. Opportunities were unlocked as I learned about Sémillon, Beaujolais, Pinotage. I learned how to pair crumbly or creamy cheese with crisp, dry white wine while talking shop with my clients. We found common ground and connection over our love for these finer things in life.
Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.
Ernest Hemingway
Jammy, peppery, yummy
Moving to California, I discovered a previously unknown-to-me variety of red wine, frequently found in the Lodi Valley wine region in Central CA: Zinfandel. We didn’t drink a lot of Zinfandel in London. Or any for that matter. I discovered that this variety has a jammy flavor bursting with fruity aromas of blackberry, cherry, plums, black pepper, and cinnamon with varying levels of oak. God I’m drooling. And my point is made. I like me a good Zin.
Don’t call it Champagne
Keeping it classy, I learned to love Champagne and sup Kir Royales in France. I learned from the French that nothing other than Champagne from the Champagne region of France is allowed to be called Champagne. And yet I went to Russia and drank Shampanskoye and found their local sparkling wine quite OK for the price and a much better alternative to all the vodka. And then I moved to California and discovered there was a legal loophole here too that enabled the local sparkling wines to be called California Champagne. What a delicious outrage. I supported this loop hole by having Korbel as the ‘Champagne’ at our wedding. And by having a Champagne-themed 40th birthday party. It was celebratory California Champagne (toasting to a new job opportunity) that was actually my very last alcoholic drink that I sipped, 643 days ago. Read more about that tale here.
And so, 643 days since I have last indulged in the blessed grape, I want to know if there is a small slither of its gloriousness that lives on in an alcohol free afterlife.
I’ll be diving deeper into non-alcoholic wines to see if they can hold up. One of the first I tried was a de-alcoholized ‘Champagne’ from St Regis which was declared to be a delicious, fizzy bubbly. At over $25 bottle, the jury is still out on whether it is ‘worth it’ but for us alcohol-free bettys, it is a good celebration drink. I will defo be getting a couple of bottles in of St Regis for Christmas.
Bait and Switch
So, that’s the Champs covered, now how about a Red? Can I find an alcohol-free red wine that is not pour-down-the-drain filth? First up: ARIEL Cabernet Sauvignon.
They describe their wine as an oak-aged Cabernet Sauvignon with aromas of black currants, cherry, blueberries and chocolate, with soft tannins and a dry finish. Somewhat incredibly, this wine is not new to the market as so many of the AF beverages are. Ariel has been perfecting this wine for over forty years. They use reverse osmosis to pump their fresh wine through membranes that separate the alcohol and water from the wine. That leaves a concentrate with all the flavor, texture and aromas of the original wine. And it is not too bad. Quite good really. The flavors come through… chocolate and cherry and blackcurrant with a dry finish. It lacks the bite and warmth and pepperiness of a good red wine but if I am eating a rich pasta dish or a steak, and I close my eyes, I can enjoy it just enough to make it worth it.
Ingredients
- ARIEL Cabernet Sauvignon
- Wine glasses
Instructions
- Uncork a bottle of ARIEL Cabernet Sauvignon
- Pour into quality wine glasses
- Sip, while closing eyes and eating delicious food
I’ll buy it again. Christmas red wine, sorted.
Next up: White wine. Planning to try either Luminara Alcohol-Removed Chardonnay or Giesen 0% Sauvignon Blanc with the turkey at Thanksgiving. Stay tuned.