Wine without the buzz
Sometimes you need a drink without the alcohol.
Several brands on the market offer worthy bottles

By Paul Franson
SPECIAL TO THE RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Much research has demonstrated that some ingredients in wine, especially red wine, can contribute to healthier hearts, fight cancer and even reduce ulcers. But many people want or need to avoid the alcohol that accounts for about 1/8 of its volume — and its euphoria.

For whatever reason, those who want to avoid alcohol have an alternative: nonalcoholic wines.

These de-alcoholized wines contain less than 0.5 percent alcohol by law; orange juice and other beverages may contain that much alcohol through natural fermentation. Nonalcoholic wines are also popular with dieters because they typically contain less than half the calories of wine. Alcohol-free wine is not just grape juice. It’s real wine that has been fermented naturally, then had its alcohol removed. There’s a big difference. Grape juice contains a substantial amount of natural sugar. The yeast that converts most of that sugar also creates other natural compounds that lend a distinctive taste.

Removing the alcohol changes the taste and feel of the beverage in your mouth so that de-alcoholized wine tastes much different from regular wines. Alcohol contributes viscosity and helps buffer acids and tannins, and so a basic de-alcoholized wine isn’t very tasty. For that reason, producers add grape juice or concentrate to compensate. Some are only slightly sweet, others about 6 percent sugar, but it’s a long way from ripe grape juice with 18 to 24 percent sugar.

The bottom line is that some of these alcohol-free wines are quite good but they don’t taste exactly like traditional wine. They are pleasant beverages on their own and with many types of food, and they probably contribute some of the health benefits of other similar wines.

Some specifics

The largest brand of alcohol-free wine is Fré made by Trinchero Family Estates of St. Helena, Calif. The company is America’s fourth-largest wine producer.

Trinchero claims about 65 percent of the 500,000-case, $200 million domestic market for nonalcoholic wine. It makes three varietal versions (Merlot, Chardonnay and white Zinfandel, named after the grapes that are used to make them), two generic (premium red and white) and two sparkling wines (Brut and Spumante). The wines contain less than 0.25 percent alcohol and contain 18 percent to 35 percent added unfermented grape juice for mouth feel (thickness) and taste.

Trinchero uses a $1 million low-temperature still called a spinning cone to produce its Fré wines. The process first separates wine’s flavors and aromas, then removes the alcohol.

The alcoholic wine is fed into the top of a 13-foot tall, 40-inch diameter column that contains a stack of alternating spinning and stationary inverted metal cones. Centrifugal force spreads the wine into a thin layer that contacts neutral nitrogen gas and extracts flavors and aromas from the wine and carries them from the cone. These are condensed and stored, then the remaining liquid is run through the cones at a higher temperature, "boiling" off the alcohol, which is collected and sold for other uses.

The flavor and aroma essences arc then mixed into the remaining liquid (basically water), and 20 to 35 percent unfermented grape juice of the same type is added.

Among the Fré line, the most successful offerings seem to be the sparklers. The Brut is clearly misnamed — "Brut" implies dry — but it’s pleasant before dinner and an excellent choice for weddings, celebrations and other such events.

The Spumante is quite sweet but would be great with dessert — or as dessert. It’s made entirely from Muscat grapes like Italy’s famed Asti Spumante, a sweet, low-alcohol sparkling wine in itself.

The wines contain more sulfites than dry wines to prevent them from fermenting in the bottle. This could affect some people, producing sneezing or even asthma attacks in those especially sensitive.

Another offering

Another big producer is Ariél Vineyards of Napa, a subsidiary of J. Lohr Winery. It produces a dozen wines in different series with the Ambassador varietal wines. That label includes Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, Chardonnay from Monterey and Merlot. Some of the alcohol-free wines are aged in barrels like conventional wines, in fact. It also makes sparkling wine. Ariél uses reverse osmosis, a different high-tech process for removing alcohol than Sutter Home uses for Fré. It forces wine under pressure through a filter membrane with holes so tiny that only water and alcohol, the smallest molecules, can pass through it. This leaves a syrupy wine concentrate behind. This process is repeated to remove all the water and alcohol, then water is mixed with the concentrate to produce the alcohol-free wine.

Which process is better? Both companies claim theirs is, but in practice, there’s probably as much variation in flavor from the type of grapes and other processing as from the alcohol removal.

These modern alcohol-free wines are a tremendous improvement over earlier versions that used conventional high-temperature distillation to force off the alcohol. Those wines tasted cooked, and a significant reason for the growth of today’s alcohol-free wines is the use of new high-tech processes that maintain freshness.

Alcohol-free wines are relatively inexpensive, under $8 in general, some under $5. They are available in most supermarkets and wine stores. Though they’ll never replace conventional wine, they are a nice alternative in some situations and are worth a try.

ALCOHOL-FREE COCKTAILS

Many sophisticated wine cocktails contain sugar or fruit juice, so they’re naturals for non-alcoholic wines. Some use sparkling wines.

Champagne Cocktail

Place a sugar cube soaked in Angostura Bitters in the bottom of a champagne flute and top with 5 ounces of Fré Sparkling Brut.

Mimosa

Pour 4 ounces of Fré Sparkling Brut in a champagne flute and add 4 ounces of orange juice and 1 ounce of raspberry syrup. Garnish with an orange slice.

Kir Royale

Pour 1/4 ounce cassis syrup (or other fruit syrup) into a champagne glass and add 6 ounces of Sparkling Brut.

Spritzer

Add cold club soda to alcohol-free wine in a glass with ice and garnish with a lemon peel.

Sangria

Pour one bottle of alcohol-free red wine into a pitcher. Add 12 ounces of orange juice, 2 ounces lemon juice and 6 ounces of simple syrup (sugar dissolved in hot water). Garnish with lemon and orange wheels.