One of my absolute favourite non-alcoholic red wines has been out of stock since early February, but great news. Tomorrow Cellars is back with a new vintage of their popular Red Blend and you dear reader, are the FIRST to hear about it.

When Tomorrow Cellars winery first launched their non-alcoholic 2023 Red Blend in the summer of 2025, it was a dynamite addition to the non-alcoholic red wines category and immediately made my list of best non-alcoholic red wines. Made with petite sirah in California, the red blend was full of dusty tannins and structure for days.

The former Red Blend was iconic because it was crafted in partnership with Ian James Blessing, the founder of All The Bitters. Adding bitters to non-alcoholic wine has been a long-time ‘hack’ for lovers of alcohol-free wine to add mouthfeel and complexity. Tomorrow Cellars brought this idea in-house to create a delicious red wine that hit all the right notes for me.

Since it sold out in January, we’ve all been waiting patiently for the new vintage and it’s finally here!

The 2024 Red Blend is a bit of a departure from the original wine, as the winery (still in partnership with Ian Blessing) has developed a deeper more nuanced liquid with noticeably more botanicals. And just a reminder that wine is an agricultural product that isn’t made in a tank, so the grapes are gonna taste how the grapes are gonna taste from one year to the next.

Aroma

This non-alcoholic red wine legitimately smells like real wine. On the nose there are big juicy notes of dark cherry, leather and spice just like a complex red wine.

Taste

Where the previous wine was drier and more tannic, this new blend is soft and supple and smooth with a hint of bright acidity. It’s a lot more juicy with prominent tart cherry notes, cassis and some softer dusty tannins. It’s not as dry as the first vintage, but its well-balanced with the fruit. If you like Luminara’s Napa blend, you will definitely love this bottle. I think it’s a better version of the Luminara, with slightly more structure, and a soft, dry finish. You could almost compare it to a merlot with it’s soft juicy flavours.

Mouthfeel & Texture

Petite sirah notoriously has a lot of body, but when you dealcoholize red wine this is the first thing to go. The 2023 Red Blend was a little on the thin side (which did not bother me at all!) but with the new blend they’ve tried to add a little bit more heft with the addition of slightly more of the botanical extracts, now at 2% of the overall volume. It’s still on the thinner side, but arguably, a nicer smoother experience than the first vintage.

Overall

As a wine person, I was hoping for more complexity (maybe some pepper or smoke to round out the juicy cherry) but I think this is a very consumer friendly bottle that everyone across the wine drinking spectrum will love.

Tracy Sweeney, co-founder of Tomorrow Cellars, says that they contemplated adding some pepper to the extract but it didn’t feel quite right.

“We took what nature gave us. 2024 was a hotter growing year so the wine is riper and the tannins a bit softer,” she explained.

One of the biggest complaints about European style non-alcoholic wine is that it’s too sour or too thin - with Tomorrow Cellars 2024 Red Blend, they’ve crafted a European Merlot-style wine that drinks like it’s from California. Just delicious!

Score: 95 points

WHERE TO BUY TOMORROW CELLARS

15% OFF Tomorrow Cellars 2024 Red Blend with code GOODCLEAN15 at TomorrowCellars.com

SHOP NOW

Proxies is the most contentious brand in the non-alcoholic niche. Some people love them, but on the other hand, lots of people have bought them and cursed the person who recommended it. They are meant for foodies, but marketed to regular people who are looking for non-alcoholic wine with branding meant for Gen Z. They’re also at a price tag that although aligned with the rest of the category, seems outrageous to anyone first dipping their toe into the n/a wine space and trying a bottle of Proxies. I was neither of the above but somewhere in the middle - appreciating the complex process they underwent to make Proxies but also secretly wishing they were more like ‘wine’.

It’s taken me a long time to admit this, but there are actually a lot of people out there who don’t want to drink something that tastes exactly like the alcoholic version they are missing. Lots of these people are sober, but lots of them are also just occasional teetotalers looking for an alternative. I can see the value in options for both parties - a structured European red that tastes like a real red wine, or a complex, structured liquid that uses teas, herbs and juice to build something unique.

In the case of Proxies Big Red it’s a little bit of both worlds. On the one hand, it’s not a dealcoholized wine so the producers haven’t had to add artificial sugars, flavours and grape juice after dealcoholization to make it taste like wine. On the other hand, the complexity is on par with a high-end wine showing tannins, tabacco and fruit making it truly wine-adjacent in the best sense.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide where Proxes Big Red fits into your spectrum of drinks, but for now, here are my tasting notes!

Aroma

On the nose, this wine alternative has a great bouquet. Tobacco and fruit really foretell what you will be drinking in your glass. Just lovely!

Taste

I literally said Wow'!’ when the taste first hit my tongue. There are notes of cherry and blackberry, married with the unmistakable hint of Swisher Sweets flavoured tobacco. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not sweet in the traditional sense, but the tobacco notes have a hint of sweetness like a fruity cigarillo. It’s very pleasant alongside the juicy dark fruit notes.

If you’re looking for a tannic, dry alternative, this is it. Big Red is actually very dry. Other '‘not wine” alternatives have never been able to nail the dryness. To me, this means they taste more like a premium juice without the dryness and tannins signalling it’s something elevated. Big Red has all the things you want in the taste of a wine dupe - tannins, dryness, fruit, acidity and complexity. It’s really really good.

Mouthfeel and Experience

What I love about Big Red is the pinot noir consistency. It doesn’t sit heavy on the palate like a Non or a Kally. It’s got medium body and is neither thin nor cloyingly heavy. It drinks like a wine and I think Proxies has really outdone themselves.

The other aspect I really love about Big Red is that it’s low in sugar, which I know is important to a lot of people. Some other ‘not wine’ alternatives are very high in sugar because of the added juice so this was a bonus!

Overall

I really couldn’t get enough of this one! I don’t usually go for dupes, with the exception of Jukes Cordiality cans once in awhile, but I will be reaching for this one again especially since the price is so reasonable and the quality is like a $30 dealcoholized red. Win!

Score: 97

*This score reflects the category of wine alternatives that are not dealcoholized wine. It is not being compared directly with dealcoholized red wines, but some consideration was given to how closely it resembles a structured traditional red wine.

Exclusive Wine Club offer:

U.S.: Get Proxies Big Red ($22) for 15% at The Zero Proof with this link - no promo code required, discount applied at checkout.

SHOP NOW

Canada: 15% OFF on Proxies Big Red plus your whole cart at UpsideDrinks.com with promo code SOMEGOODCLEANFUN!

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

The unique selling proposition of the new Band of Vintners Freestyle non-alcoholic white wine from California is that it’s a dealcoholized ‘skin contact white wine’. If you’re not familiar with this terminology, you will definitely know it by it’s other name of ‘orange wine’.

Skin contact white wine, aka orange wine, is made by allowing white varietals to sit and macerate with the skins and seeds for a period of time before filtering. Where this differs from rosé is the use of white varietals rather than red. With orange wine, the hue becomes almost amber and the taste profile might have notes of orange peel, spices or dried fruits like apricot or peach.

There is only one other orange wine in the non-alcoholic space and that’s the Oddbird Sparkling Orange, so it was really quite a novelty to see this bottle listed at The Zero Proof.

Band of Vintners is a California small-batch winery in Sonoma producing two traditional wines and now this non-alcoholic option. Founded in 2014 by a group of seven wine-industry friends who met through a tasting group, Band of Vintners started with a simple idea: create a Napa Valley wine that delivers quality without feeling out of reach. Today, the project is led by two passionate young winemakers alongside a Master Sommelier, and their goal is to keep pushing what Napa wine can be - and I definitely think they’ve done that with this experimental non-alcoholic orange wine.

Now let’s see how this non-alcoholic white holds up!

Colour

This is probably the most interesting coloured non-alcoholic wine I’ve ever seen. It’s a very deep gold and actually looks more like a buttery chardonnay than an orange wine.

Taste

It’s not clear on the label, but after tasting it and doing some internet sleuthing, I’m guessing this wine is a blend of muscat, viognier and maybe grenache blanc. There are telltale notes of pineapple and melon (maybe some banana) with a very low-acidity. It’s juicy and fruit-forward, slightly on the sweet side. For someone who is a regular wine drinker, you might think this is a little too sweet, but as a non-drinker I found it to be just right.

What’s missing is the acidity and tannins. Truly, there’s a whisper of lemon but I wanted there to be a bit more brightness. And I didn’t detect any of the delicious tannins that come from skin contact.

Mouthfeel

Orange wine is often a bit grippy like a red wine, because of the skin contact and resulting tannins. Band of Vintners is not thin, but it also doesn’t have the grippiness that I was looking for. But overall it’s got a nice consistency for a non-alcoholic white wine regardless of the label or expectations.

What to pair with Band of Vintners Freestyle

At first I wasn’t sold on this as a good food wine, but the more I drank it the more I wished I had some jerk chicken. Or something with chutney in it. There’s just something so perfect about the combo of tropical notes with spices so if you’re trying this bottle, look to your international aisle at the grocery store for some inspiration!

Overall

If you don’t like the sour aspect of higher acidity non-alcoholic whites, and are a fan of Luminara Chardonnay, you’ll definitely like this non-alcoholic white.

Score: 90 points

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

With a name like Hollow Leg, it just stands to reason that this new non-alcoholic wine brand is from the Emerald Isle - home of the quick tongue, clever wit and satire in response to life. I’m 25% Irish and have the gift of the gab, so I’m allowed to say that.

Hollow Leg is a new non-alcoholic wine brand to both the U.S. and Canada, and yes, it’s an Iris company (which is the last place you expect a wine to come from) but thankfully the wines are actually produced in Spain.

There are four styles of wine in the Hollow Leg line-up including a sparkling cuvee, a sparkling rosé, an Albariño (white) and a cabernet sauvignon. The origin wines are produced in Galicia, Spain, but I can’t confirm where the wine is dealcoholized. The winemakers name is Pablo Martinez, and he and his two partners spent six years perfecting the dealcoholization process for these wines.

What is super interesting about this brand is their rejection of ‘tasteless’ non-alcoholic wine. Although I don’t think n/a wines are all tasteless, I understand what they mean. They can taste very ‘homogenous’ with very little complexity, with the exception of the wines in the emerging estate category like Bolle, Zeronimo and Divin. Hollow Leg is taking a serious approach to recreating wine without alcohol, chemical additives or sugars in a way that truly captures the wine drinking experience. And I’m here for it!

Today we’re starting with the Hollow Leg Sparkling Cuvee because it could be a good choice if you’re looking for something for Valentine’s Day.

A quick reminder that ‘cuvee’ most often means blend - it does not mean ‘sparkling’ which is always a misunderstanding. My BIGGEST beef is with winemakers that don’t share varietal information so although they don’t clarify on the label, this tastes like it’s a single varietal Albariño and they’re using the cuvee label to mean a premium, specialized bottling rather than a blend. Disappointing!

Aroma

On the nose, it’s giving crisp green apple and the clean characteristics of a good brut.

Taste

This non-alcoholic bubbly is clean, crisp and bone-dry, with a nice bright acidity a hint of delicate grape must that dupes a brut pretty closely. They’ve really nailed the sweetness - it’s quite unique that a wine with under 1g of sugar per glass has a sweetness to it like this, balancing out the dry acidity.

This is comparable to the Society de la Rassi brut and it’s clean bone-dry profile.

Where I think this wine is lacking is depth and complexity but as I’ve said before, it’s hard to dealcoholize single varietal wines and capture everything a wine drinker expects. Especially with white wines. Where Zeronimo Sparkling Select always wins for me in this category is because it’s a blend of varietals the winemaker has extracted the best characteristics from and you can taste the complexity.

Mouthfeel & Experience

A very light mousse and playful bubbles but nothing that stands out from any other non-alcoholic sparkling wine.

What to pair with Hollow Leg Sparkling

Small bite appetizers, crackers, sardines and oysters.

Overall

This is a good buy for the price, especially at $22 it’s a dead ringer for Society de la Rassi which is $60 (in fact it almost tastes like they are the exact same wine….). This isn’t an everyday wine that pairs well with food, it’s a brut-style bubbly so I would definitely pick this up if I needed something for a group toast or event where you need a special occasion feeling.

Score: 93 points

Where to buy Hollow Leg Sparkling Cuvee

In the U.S., you can buy Hollow Leg through Boisson ($22). Use code SOMEGOODCLEANFUN for 15% OFF on your cart.

In Canada, Hollow Leg is available through Sobr Market.

Have a great weekend everyone,

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

A very rare moment of surprise and pleasure happened to me on New Years Eve. I was invited to a get-together by the parents of a my son’s friend. I could only stop by for an hour because of other obligations, so I showed up empty handed without bringing the usual non-alcoholic drinks for myself.

When my host opened the door and we had exchanged a happy new years greeting, he was excited to share that they had a bottle of non-alcoholic wine. I’m always grateful when a host goes out of their way to practice inclusive hospitality but never expect anything more than something from the grocery store (thus, why I bring my own options). However, this time I was truly taken by surprise when I saw they had a bottle of Zeno Sparkling Rosé sitting on the table.

It turns out another woman from the neighbourhood is cutting back on alcohol, and decided to bring it along. We had a great conversation about non-alcoholic wine and I had a chance to try the sparkling rosé for the first time. What made it an even more delicious situation was drinking non-alcoholic wine at a party with others. It wasn’t just me sitting at home sampling a glass in front of my computer. Definitely a really nice way to ring in the new year!

Background on Zeno Wines

Zeno was founded in December 2022 by wine-trade veterans David Hodgson and Will Willis, after three years of intensive research and development aimed at creating premium non-alcoholic wine. Zeno is based in the U.K. but their grapes come from a single-estate, organic vineyard in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. Winemaking and dealcoholization are carried out in partnership with Spanish winery partners. As a side bar, David and Will are hilarious cheeky guys that keep popping up doing silly things on the Zeno TikTok account.

The Zeno Sparkling Rosé is from a blend of 97% macabeo and 3% garnacha - both popular varietals in Spain. Garnacha is a dark and juicy garnet-coloured wine, and used widely to add some juicy character in wine blends. Macabeo is a white grape grown in the northeastern region of Spain and primarily used as a blending grape in cava. I think macabeo has too high of an acidity level to dealcoholize well, but perhaps the garnacha will balance it out!

Aroma

Rich and fragrant is how I would describe this - stewed plums and toffee on the nose but also a bit grapey.

Taste

Lovely fresh notes of peach and nectarine, and a hint of red currant. It’s also on the sweeter side, and not as dry as I expected. The woman who I was sharing this bottle with said she thought it tasted just like real wine and I had to take her word for it. It’s been a long time since I had a traditional sparkling rosé, but I could understand her sentiment. It did have enough ‘wine’ flavour to satisfy someone looking for a dupe.

Mouthfeel/Experience

The bubbles were a bit too artificial, but don’t hold that against it. It’s just not as elegant as Bolle or Zeronimo. But it has a great texture and the mousse is slightly creamy so it feels like a little-bit-better-than-average sparkling wine. It’s also priced reasonably at $24 so it won’t break the bank.

What to pair with Zeno Sparkling Rosé

I thought this would be a great bottle to pair with Valentine’s Day desserts like cheesecake or profiteroles (cream puffs). It’s light and crisp enough for a dessert, but the grenache gives it a little bit of body to make the pairing interesting.

Overall

Not a bad sparkling wine for their freshman effort. I think it’s a great, well-priced sparkling rosé to buy for Valentine’s Day that you won’t be disappointed in. The leader in this category is definitely Bolle Sparkling Rose or Oddbird Sparkling Rosé but the Zeno will be a pretty good runner-up if you can’t get your hands on that one.

Where to Buy Zeno Sparkling Rose

In the U.S., you can find Zeno through Boisson HERE. 15% OFF WITH CODE SOMEGOODCLEANFUN (side-wide for first purchase only)

In Canada, Zeno is sold through SommZero.

Score: 93 points

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

A few months ago, I reviewed the Bolle Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine and was truly blown away by its level of quality and taste. I was fascinated by how the team at Bolle was able to do this and upon interviewing co-founder Gary Read, I discovered they used several key innovations to develop their incredible wines.

Through the age-old technique of secondary fermentation, Bolle was able to coax out secondary and tertiary flavours from the dealcoholized wine. To do that they needed to develop their own low-alcohol yeast which produces minimal amounts of alcohol in the secondary fermentation process. Together, these amount to a breakthrough in production technique for dealcoholization and have raised the bar enormously.

They’ve now released several more wines on top of their original blanc de blanc and sparkling rosé, including the one I tried today which they are calling a Grand Reserve. In wine terms, Grand Reserve usually means it’s been aged longer and higher quality. In this case, the Bolle Grand Reserve has been aged on lees for six months.

The original wine is made with 100% chardonnay grapes and aged on lees before it undergoes dealcoholization. The dealcoholized wine is then bottled with non-fermented chardonnay must (sugar) and a low-alcohol yeast, to undergo a secondary fermentation. This is how traditional champagne is made, but in the Bolle wines, the yeast is a very low alcohol producing yeast which maintains an ABV under 0.5%.

A fascinating and labour intensive experience, but you can see the passion for both winemaking and a life with less alcohol in the efforts Bolle is putting towards their wines. Let’s see how this tastes!

Aroma

A very muted aroma of brioche and not much else, but that’s ok. It’s clean and crisp and does not smell artificial, which some non-alcoholic wines do.

Taste

The notes in this bubbly are really lovely. It’s got a very clean and crisp flavour with a hint of caramel, apricot and green apple. Medium acidity. When it warms up a little, you can coax some of the yeasty lees notes out of it but they are faint - less pronounced than the first version of blanc de blanc.

Mouthfeel and experience

The mousse on this sparkling is superb. As with the first blanc de blanc, there is no artificial carbonation so the bubbles are naturally produced during secondary fermentation. To me, this is still a wonder to behold in a category where everyone uses artificial carbonation, even the most elite wines. The bubbles are soft and playful and perfect for an elevated bubbly.

Overall

This wine has a similar style to a 2010 vintage, if my memory serves me. It’s a lot more elegant than the original blanc de blanc in some ways, but I did expect a little more complexity. That being said, it’s a very lovely and creamy bubbly that drinks like a traditional champagne. I still think I like the first Bolle Blanc de Blanc a little bit better but this is still better than most of the other bubblies in the category. I would pick this to uncork on Valentine’s Day for sure!

Score: 94 points

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

Riesling also dealcoholizes really really well because of the sugar level, and one of the first excellent non-alcoholic whites to grace the world stage was the Leitz Eins Zwei Riesling which is still one of my absolute favourites.

I’ve had my eye on the Goodvines Sparkling Riesling for awhile and its about time I tried it out, as it’s one of the few non-alcoholic sparkling rieslings available in the world.

Goodvines is made in Germany and I really love their ethos around winemaking. They use aroma recovery in their production which is complex enough, but they also say their wines are free from artificial additives, which is very hard to do. I had my doubts but the taste of this specific wine speaks for itself.

Aroma

Lemon curd and fresh orchard fruit on the nose. As always, anything chemical turns me off and this wine had not even a whiff of anything strange. Just beautiful!

Taste

On the palate, there are crisp notes of lemon, golden delicious apples and yellow pear with a fresh mineral finish. I detected a hint of salinity which balances out the acidity nicely. And it could have been my imagination, but the hallmark petrol notes I love in riesling were just peeking out after the wine warmed up a bit.

Mouthfeel & Experience

Medium-minus body with a lively and fresh character. This is one of those non-alcoholic wines where you don’t miss the alcohol. It’s enough on it’s own!

What To Pair With It

Shell fish, oysters and other seafood or fish would be divine with this smooth wine, although I wished it had a little bit more salinity. Regardless, this is a great food wine and even though it’s gently sparkling, it doesn’t have a lot of needless carbonation so it works with food.

Overall

I actually really loved this wine. It’s got a nice acidic backbone without being too overly sweet and paired really well with the salmon I was eating for lunch. Not a great match with the green vegetables on the plate, but it was crisp enough for the oily salmon and complemented it really nicely.

Where to Buy Goodvines Sparkling Riesling

Unbelievably, this wine is available on Amazon in the U.S. ($20). The bottle looks different than the Canadian and European version but it’s the same wine, just an older vintage.

You can also buy it on Proof No More ($17) - I don’t have a discount code, but if you sign up for their newsletter you can get 10% off your purchase, so you can load other things into your cart too to maximize the discount.

For Canadian readers, the importer of Goodvines is on my no-fly list right now for something very serious so I don’t feel good linking to them. Further, because of the in-fighting and rivalry amongst Canadian retailers, this also means there are literally no other retailers who carry this wine. But you are all smart cookies and can google it I’m sure!

That’s all for this week - have a wonderful weekend and if you are north of 60, enjoy the snow!

-Sarah

In 2026, I want to continue adding more value to your subscription. Right now, I usually just focus on wine reviews, but I’d like to share more about all the other categories especially zero proof spirits. I’m working on better editorial planning so I can make sure I’m plugged in to what’s new and what’s good.

For today, I have two reviews for you - one really nice option I stumbled upon accidentally and one that I purposely ordered and am really sorry I spent the money on it!

Leitz Zero Point Five Sauvignon Blanc

I accidentally stumbled upon this bottle recently, and it’s a case of where clearly I was out to lunch over the holidays. I sat down to a salmon and roasted veggie dinner one night, and looking for something good to pair it with, I grabbed a bottle of what I thought was Eins Zwei Zero Riesling from the wine fridge. I opened the bottle and had a glass and went on with my evening. It wasn’t until much later, as I was digging for a midnight snack, that I really looked at the bottle and noticed it wasn’t the riesling but a sauvignon blanc I didn’t even remember I had on the shelf. Walks like a duck, talks like a duck? How did I not notice I was drinking a sauvignon blanc? I am just chalking it up to not paying attention, and because it was such a seamless pairing, I just didn’t notice!

Regardless, here are my thoughts on this crispy sauvi-b!

Aroma

Lots of juicy tropical fruit on the nose, with a hint of citrus. Lovely!

Taste

This is definitely a hybrid sauvignon blanc. Traditional expressions of sauvignon blanc are marked by hay, fresh grass and herbal aromatics that defines its infamous taste. Warmer climate sauvignon blancs have more tropical notes. The Leitz dealcoholized version is a bit of both. It’s got some nice aromatics, but I can taste pear, yuzu and hints of pineapple. It’s medium acidity, with bright citrus notes nicely balanced with the juicier body.

This bottle needs to be really chilled as the taste completely changes when it starts to warm to room temperature and becomes a bit flabby.

Mouthfeel/Experience

Medium body and a nice weighty texture, so it doesn’t feel thin. As you know, I love it when a non-alcoholic wine drinks like a traditional wine but I don’t always love the sugar needed to do that. In this case (5g), it’s worth it!

Overall

I loved this one once I realized what it was I had opened. It’s a light and crisp expression of sauvignon blanc, and I think it’s actually better than the Giesen Sauvignon Blanc in some ways. A little pricier but it paired so nicely with my salmon and veggies I would definitely buy it again.

Score: 93 points

Find it through The Zero Proof in the U.S. or in Canada, many non-alcoholic retailers and bottle shops also carry it.

Waterbrook Clean Cabernet Sauvignon

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a non-alcoholic red wine this bad. I don’t think Waterbrook is new to the category, it was just one of those bottles I didn’t get around to tasting until now.

Before I explain why it’s not the ideal example of a good non-alcoholic red wine, I should say this is a good time to remind you that everyone has their own preferences. I think I saw on social media that someone thought this one would be a good steak wine, and that’s fine for them. And it might be good for you too. At $20, it’s not breaking the bank. But here’s why I didn’t think it stands out.

Aroma

When I smell too much tart cherry masking cooked grapes, it’s usually a sign the wine is not going to be good. I was right.

Taste

The tasting notes on the Waterbrook website say this has “bold oaky tannins”, but they are way off. There are no tannins in this bottle and I didn’t taste any oak. It’s a very juicy wine, and that would be fine if there was some structure or acidity but there is neither.

The taste is overwhelmingly ‘one note’ - very much like sundried raisins or cooked grapes. The reason for this is the 12g of carbs of which there are 6g of sugar. When this much sugar is added to the dealcoholized liquid, it adds body and mouthfeel but it also flattens out any of the existing complexity or flavours and just enhances the grape juice characteristics.

It’s too bad, because the notion of having a clean cabernet sauvignon without alcohol is appealing, but this just does not hit the mark for me. It’s on the same level as Fre, Ariel, or Luxton and VinZero (for Canadians familiar with those grocery brands).

Score: 83

That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend everyone!

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

Missing Thorn is a co-crafted non-alcoholic wine brand by winemaker Aaron Pott and Napa Valley vintner Stephanie Honig. Aaron Pott is a world-renowned master winemaker known for his premium Napa Valley wines, while Stephanie Honig brings decades of industry expertise and innovation to their collaboration.

The first red wine from Missing Thorn was a malbec, and full confession that I’ve always disliked malbec so I wasn’t a fan. This second effort at a red wine is a super interesting blend of primarily teroldego (59%), which is an Italian varietal, and cabernet sauvignon (26%) with minor amounts of cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot blended in.

I got the chance to chat briefly with Stephanie Honig herself about their winemaking process and how they landed on this blend.

“Aaron tested various lots of wine and from a sensory perspective decided what he thought would dealcoholize well,” she explained to me. “Along with taste, we’re looking for the right grapes with strong aromatics, and not super high in acidity because that doesn’t dealcoholize well. Also with a full body.”

All of the raw wine they start with comes from various wine regions around California, including the teroldego which I can imagine is probably juicier and fruitier than the ones from the terroirs of Northern Italy.

Aaron and Stephanie work together to create the blend of varietals they’ll eventually dealcoholize. Once the alcohol has been removed using a spinning cone, they decide what natural flavours and juices need to be added back in to help craft the wine into a palatable liquid.

This careful approach to winemaking resonated with me, firstly because as Honig herself said, they’re testing and learning with each new vintage, seeing what works and building on it. For the Missing Thorn team, it’s not just about choosing a bulk wine and then delacoholizing it, but really thinking about what the finished product should be and what the potential is in each varietal.

So let’s dive in and find out how it tastes!

Aroma

On the nose it’s got a really nice juicy aroma, full of black fruit and a little bit of dustiness. I like that the aroma wasn’t overwhelming because as track records go, a non-alcoholic wine with a great aroma is often underwhelming in taste.

Taste

On the palate, it’s a big surprise. There’s a very slight hint of tannins balanced out with a really fresh juiciness. Notes of tart cranberry and red fruit are a perfect counterpart to each other. There’s a nice balance of fruit and dryness with a hint of smoke or tobacco and spice. It has a really enjoyable flavor that’s quite unusual for a non-alcoholic red and it made me go back for a second and third glass. I think this is because the blend is so unusual - teroldego is really unique to begin with but then blended with cab sauv, malbec and petite verdot makes this really cool.

Mouthfeel & Experience

The texture is silky-smooth, and I loved that there were some grippy tannins I could feel on my teeth. I love that this one doesn’t fall apart in the middle which is always the thing to look out for when alcohol is removed. Many many dealcoholized reds don’t hold up in the mid-palate and end up feeling flat. I wanted maybe 5% more body, but you can’t have everything and there’s enough weight to be sufficient from start to finish.

What to pair with Missing Thorn Red Blend

Because of the notes of cranberry and pomegranate, this wine will be absolutely perfect for the holidays. It’s definitely a food wine but not with heavy red meats (in my opinion!) - this is a great option for dry roasted white meats so I actually paired it this evening with roasted pork tenderloin and it was a great pairing. It will also be great with a Christmas turkey and because of the tart cranberries on the palate, obviously a perfect pairing with all those savoury side dishes.

TIP: Drink this one slightly chilled and aerate it for 5-10 minutes. It does make a big difference! It’s still fine if you don’t, but when it opens up this n/a wine is even better!

Overall

I think they did a fantastic job on this, and when I compare what people complain about with other, similar wines this kind of bridges the divide between too juicy/too much like grape juice and too thin/sour/dry. It’s a perfect balance between taste, texture and experience. A fantastic effort at a soft juicy red blend - I loved it from first sip to last!

Score: 95 points

Where to buy Missing Thorn

You can find the new vintage on the Missing Thorn website here. The first vintage Malbec is available via The Zero Proof here if you want to try both of them.

🇨🇦 Note for Canadian readers - the Missing Thorn red available in Canada right now is the original malbec, not the Red Blend in this article. TBD on when the new wines will be available north of 60.

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

Abruzzo doesn’t often make the headlines, but it absolutely deserves more of the spotlight. Nestled between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine Mountains, Abruzzo is home to some of Italy’s most beloved, approachable reds particularly montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a varietal known for its richness, deep color, soft tannins and generous fruit.

So when a historic Abruzzo winery develops a non-alcoholic version of its signature red, my expectations are understandably high.

If you’ve ever seen a Zaccagnini bottle on the shelf, you know it instantly: a rustic twig tied around the neck with raffia. It’s an actual piece of grapevine from their estate; a lovely, sentimental nod to the land and to the winemaker himself, which I think is rather heartfelt.

Cantina Zaccagnini’s traditional montepulciano d’Abruzzo regularly earns praise, including 93-point scores for its 2021 vintage.

So when they released a 0.0 red, I was excited.

Cantina Zaccagnini 0.0 Red Wine: A Promising Idea That Doesn’t Fully Land

Reading the material and sell sheets, it does feel like the winemaking team tried to be thoughtful in the dealcoholization process, but then they threw me for a loop. I can over look the wine being shipped to Germany to dealcoholize because everyone does that but my biggest beef is not being transparent about the varietal. Italian Red Grapes is not a varietal and is frustrating when trying to determine what it is I’m drinking.

You can tell when a producer is simply removing alcohol, and when they’re trying to craft something unique. It’s not clear what Zaccagnini was going for.

But even if there was good intentions, the final wine falls short of what I think this varietal, appellation and producer are capable of — and far short of what I had hoped for.

Aroma

There are some pleasant notes on the nose: dusty cardamom, a hint of black cherry, and a faint whisper of something cooked which always turns me off.

Taste

This is where the disappointment is most apparent. The palate never fully finds its footing, lacking the structure and complexity that define well-made montepulciano. The fruit veers into slightly cooked territory, soft and indistinct, with none of the varietal character that should anchor this wine.

I had hoped for montepulciano’s hallmark notes of dark cherry, gentle tannins, and a rustic charm I remember from my days of guzzling Abruzzo wines. Instead, the wine presents as a generic red blend, almost like a table wine, pleasant enough but ultimately stripped of identity.

Mouthfeel & Experience

Light-bodied, reminiscent of a very young Beaujolais but without the vibrant fruit Beaujolais is known for. It’s not thin, technically, but there’s no weight or grip and nothing grounding it.

Overall

This one hurts a little because the potential for greatness was there. The story, the region, the producer… everything pointed towards a breakthrough Italian non-alcoholic red.

But the execution simply isn’t strong enough. At $20, the price isn’t outrageous, but I can’t confidently recommend this bottle when there are better options available.

For a winery with Zaccagnini’s track record, this really feels like a missed opportunity.

Score: 88 points.

A perfectly drinkable red in the technical sense but not the soulful Abruzzo moment I was hoping for!

If you do want to try this - because I have been known to be wrong about wines - it was available for a short time through Better Rhodes but is now sold out.

I would say that as a collective, we’re still on the hunt for that Italian red….without alcohol.

Until next time, have a great weekend!

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

Newblood Non-Alcoholic Red Blend is produced in Australia at a winery called Nugan Estates in New South Wales. This region of Australia is known for its plummy shiraz and cabernet sauvignon. Nugan grows vines at five vineyards across the province and has been recognised as one of Australia’s best winemakers. As with many wine producers these days, they are applying their winemaking skills to creating a non-alcoholic option so everyone can enjoy the elegance of Australian red wine.

One thing to note is that some bottles are labelled as Non-Alcoholic Red Blend while others are labelled as a shiraz - either way, it’s the same liquid in the bottle, it just depends on where you buy it.

In my opinion, shiraz jumped the shark in the late 00s and early 10s when it became the varietal du jour (as happens in the wine industry and with consumers). However, it is a great varietal to dealcoholize because of its jammy and earthy notes. The challenge is removing alcohol from a typical high ABV liquid - lower alcohol wines are easier to dealcoholize, in general. But to my surprise, the team at Nugan have done an exceptional job at capturing the essence and personality of an Australian red and if you love this style of tannic but peppery reds, this is a wine you will not want to put down.

And it’s at a great price to boot. So let’s dive in, mate!

Aroma

On the nose, soft notes of dark fruit, smoke and leather like a lighter shiraz might smell like.

Taste

Wow! was my first reaction. This non-alcoholic red just completely delivers on the shiraz expectation. There are tart but juicy notes of red berries and red currant with a softer hint of plum. Great tannins and a hint of oak, with a balanced complexity.

Mouthfeel and Experience

One thing I love about this wine is that it doesn’t fall apart in the middle. It has a great texture and a nice medium body that stays put all the way through.

What to Pair With Newblood Red

This is a perfect wine for grilled steak, juicy prime rib burgers, or a savoury roast chicken and veggies. The tannins, acidity and red currant notes will help cut through the fat and the juicy berry notes will be an excellent counterpoint to the umami flavours in the meat. But you can also just drink this on its own in front of the fire…and that’s where you’ll find me finishing this bottle!

Overall

It’s ironic because a non-alcoholic winemaker and I were talking recently, and she suggested mixing two different red wines together as a test - one had great tannins and taste but a thinner mouthfeel and one that was juicy and rich but lacking in tannins or complexity. Both were good but could be improved. The Newblood red is definitely the best of both worlds with its dry tannins balanced out with a light acidity, and a tight juiciness and flavour that doesn’t fall apart. I absolutely love this wine and for the price point - are you kidding? A case is on lockdown for the holidays for me!

Score: 97 points

Find it today through Better Rhodes - 15% with promo code SOMEGOODCLEANFUN (applies to everything in your cart!).

BUY IT NOW

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

This past holiday season I was searching for a festive non-alcoholic sparkling wine for hosting that was priced-well but would be crowd-friendly and easy drinking for a non-alcoholic option.

Les Marées popped onto the radar when I saw it listed at The Zero Proof and was curiously excited to try something new.

I honestly had to dig a little bit to find out where this non-alcoholic sparkling wine comes from, who makes it and where to buy it. The brand website is basically a skeleton, which usually means corporate overlord. If you know me at all, you know I’m an internet sleuth and this was a challenge that my inner-detective had to solve.

I happened to notice a familiar email domain on their website and did a deep dive through my inbox and boom, mystery solved - Les Marées is from the same California team that produces Woody’s sparkling non-alcoholic wine. You know I’m not a fan at all of the Woody’s blanc, but I don’t mind their rosé. It made me apprehensive about this n/a option, but experience dictates that sometimes you can be surprised by a brand’s various releases.

The basics? Les Marées is made from 100% chardonnay grapes grown in a coastal region of the South of France - close to where our friends at Moderato are producing their delicious wines. I’m not sure if it’s dealcoholized there or brought here to the U.S. but the grapes and fermented wine begins in an organic French vineyard.

Aroma

On the nose there are notes of plum, brioche and apple. A light pleasant aroma in line with the usual n/a bubbles. No chemical whiff or sun-dried raisins, which is automatic bonus marks.

Mouthfeel & Experience

Usually I would write tasting notes first, but this non-alcoholic sparkling wine is very unusual. The texture is extremely creamy, with tiny soft bubbles that aren’t aggressively sharp and sort of melt in your mouth. Immediately my brain went to non-alcoholic German wheat beers. And as you’ll read below, there is a hint of yeastiness which makes this a really interesting experience. Soft creamy bubbles are hard to replicate with artificial carbonation. Those types of bubbles come from high-end aged wine so it was very unique to find them in a non-alcoholic wine.

Overall, with the mousse and the yeasty notes, I did feel more like I was drinking a soft silky beer than a wine, but no points docked for this because I kind of like how unique it is.

Taste

The only way to enable a sparkling wine to have yeasty or bready notes is through aging ‘sur la lie’ (aging on the lees). It was confusing, because there is no way this non-alcoholic wine was fermented, had the alcohol removed and then was re-fermented. To my knowledge, Bolle is the only n/a brand in the world that does this, because they’ve invented a yeast that produces very low amounts of alcohol in order to keep the wine under 0.5%.

I shouldn’t dwell on only one aspect because there are more prominent flavour notes of green apple and lemon curd with a nice bright acidity. There’s not a lot of complexity to this wine and it has a bit of a homogenous flavour, but that’s from the added invert sugar which essentially flattens any character. But it’s nice and fresh and crisp and quite refreshing.

Overall

I would consider this wine to be mid-range in the spectrum of production quality, taste and experience. It’s a little on the sweet side for me, but bright and zippy and also soft and creamy - a dichotomy in a bottle!

I tried it in a mimosa and it was nice, but you often need sharper carbonation when you’re mixing bubbly with orange juice. This would be great in mocktail recipes because of the sweetness and the soft, creamy texture.

One added thing to note is the sugar level isn’t too high, with 3g per 100ml or about 4.5g per 5oz glass which makes this ideal if you are watching your sugar intake.

Right now it’s $22 at The Zero Proof. I’m interested to hear what everyone thinks so please leave a comment below or email me with your thoughts!

My score: 92 points

Have a great weekend everyone!

- Sarah Kate

Woody’s non-alcoholic wines are grown and produced in Sonoma County in Northwestern California. Their roster is small but mighty: a blanc de blanc non-alcoholic sparkling wine and a non-alcoholic sparkling rosé → review of the rosé can be found here.

Both of their wine styles are made with certified organic chardonnay grown at Campovida vineyards and then gently dealcoholized.

The first thing that jumped out at me when I was reading the Woody’s label was the ingredient list. Along with dealcoholized wine, Woody’s has added invert sugar and oak chips to the process. What does that mean? Once pure wine is dealcoholized, it’s thin and sour and winemakers need to reintegrate something to make it fuller and sweeter. The best non-alcoholic winemakers use pure grape must from the same varietal, but more on that in next week’s newsletter. Woody’s went with invert sugar, so I’ll just leave it at that.

The oak chips were added to emulate nutty or toasted flavours that mimic oak barrels. While I’m not against extra manipulation in wine, if you’re doing it, it better taste good.

Aroma

I didn’t smell anything sensational off the top, but really digging I got a whiff of wet hay and apple.

Taste

To be honest, this doesn’t really taste like sparkling wine or champagne at all. I was surprised because I really did like the Woody’s sparkling rosé, and so many people enjoy this one but to me it’s devoid of complexity. Despite the addition of oak chips to the process, I can’t taste the oak at all. It’s a very ‘one note’ drink, with very little sophistication and an almost homogenous taste. Dare I say apples and citrus? Probably not. I just taste grape juice.

Mouthfeel

The one thing going for this n/a bubbly is the mousse - it’s actually smooth and creamy and quite fun.

Overall

If this non-alcoholic bubbly was transported back to 2015 when no-one but St. Regis or Carl Jung was making sparkling ‘wine’ without alcohol, this would be a home run. But we’re in 2025 and there are a lot of sparkling options in the same price range that deliver a better experience. I think that this is also Woody’s freshman effort and perhaps as they refine their process and work at creating some definition and complexity, their next vintages will be better.

Score: 88

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

But first, I wanted to share that I finally had the chance to try the Gnista Red and it was really interesting. Gnista’s also been around for awhile, so you may have already tried this one, but it’s NOT a dealcoholized wine. It’s a wine alternative, or what is sometimes called ‘Not Wine’ or ‘wine adjacent’. They even say on the bottle ‘Serve like a fine Italian wine, but don’t expect it to taste like one’. I drank it at room temperature and you can taste that its made with tea and juice, but it’s the closest wine alternative to a red wine that has ever been in my glass. So if you really don’t want the dealcoholized wine taste, and want something big and hearty, try the Gnista Red.

Wine Review: Sovi Chenin Blanc

Chenin blanc is one of my most favourite varietals in wine, along with pinotage - both wines from South Africa. One of the best I’ve tried in the non-alcoholic space is from a brand called Cognato wines (also in South Africa), and actually there aren’t really a lot of chenin blancs to compare it with.

Sovi Chenin Blanc has been on my radar for awhile, because I enjoyed their Sovi Reserve Red blend and have always had it as a good pick on my low-sugar list. But their canned rosé has never been a favourite of mine so I was already luke warm on my expectations.

Sovi is made in the U.S. and the Chenin Blanc is specifically produced in Clarksburg, California. Clarksburg is known for their chenin production which does well there due to the rich, clay based soils and cooler inland climate (being almost 100 miles inland from the coast).

So, how does this grape hold up to dealcoholization? Let’s try it out!

Aroma

I was really surprised when I put my nose into this glass. The Sovi chenin smells like cotton candy or the cooked sugar smell when you’re waiting at a local fair to buy some hand-pulled taffy (I don’t know how else to describe it). There is also a hint of lemon and it’s super fresh. A really fun aroma.

Taste

Nice bright acidity with meyer lemon and green apple, with a nice pop of salinity that really hits at the finish. Up front it does taste kind of like a basic wine, so having that surprise at the end is giving this wine some brownie points. It’s a very young chenin blanc style, and has the high acidity typical of the varietal, but to me it’s missing the minerality and the more interesting aspects of chenin blanc. And there’s no complexity at all.

Mouthfeel

At first I was underwhelmed, but then I was quite surprised when it warmed up a bit and there was a teeny bit of oiliness in the texture which I actually really liked. It’s unique and unexpected. Some other reviewers of this wine said they tasted a creaminess because it was aged on the lees, but I don’t think that’s the right description. It wasn’t creamy at all.

Pairing

Shellfish would be really nice with this because of the salinity but this isn’t really structured enough to pair with foods.

Overall

It’s really rare these days that I open a bottle and find the wine inside really underwhelming. Usually I can find something good about it. In comparison to the Cognato chenin blanc, this one is just not a good reflection of the varietal at all. I found it really lacked anything special about it. This is definitely a do not buy.

Score: 90 points

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

Welcome to all the new subscribers. This is a free preview of the twice monthly non-alcoholic wine reviews for paid subscribers. For $8/month, you can save hundreds by reading my reviews on what’s good and what’s not good in the n/a wine category. This is usually behind paywall but open as a Sober October treat!

Today is a tale of two chardonnays going head-to-head on my dining room table. I couldn’t decide which white wine to write about today, and that fortunately turned into a fun side-by-side comparison of two non-alcoholic chardonnays.

But first! 🥳 The Zero Proof is offering Some Good Clean Fun readers a 20% discount on your cart this weekend for Sober October - up from the usual 15% off. No promo code. Click on this link here and the discount will be applied at checkout as up as you shop!

To set the baseline, what I’m looking for in a non-alcoholic chardonnay in order for it to be great are the following aspects:

• minerality & acidity

• some oakiness or buttery notes (depending on terroir)

• juicy without tasting like juice (balanced well with acidity)

• enough structure to hold up

• medium or medium-minus body

• bonus: less than 3g of sugar per glass

There aren’t that many n/a wines in the category that are excellent at all of the above, especially chardonnay. My main favourite up until this point has been the Leitz Chardonnay - a fantastic cuvee that just hits all the right notes for me. When I drank regular wine, I was partial to what’s called Cool Climate Chardonnay - France, Niagara Region, Oregon, Washington and Burgundy. But I’ve never said no to a good fat Russian River chard (California).

So, there is a shocking and surprising twist in this toe-to-toe match up of opposing terroirs, pitting Moderato 2023 Cuvee Revolutionnaire Chardonnay from the Cote de Gascogne, France against Oceano Zero 2023 Chardonnay from California. So…on y va! (let’s go in French!).

Oceano Zero 2023 Chardonnay v. Moderato Le Cuvee Revolutionnaire 2023 Chardonnay

Setting the scene

A few weeks ago, I wrote about French brand Moderato and how they are working towards a reinvention of the French wine tradition without the alcohol (I’m particularly fond of their slogan “Liberté, Egalité, Sobriété” ❤️). The chardonnay is produced in Côtes de Gascogne in the south west of France.

Oceano Zero, in comparison, hails from the sunny hills of California’s Spanish Springs Vineyard. They make limited edition single-vineyard vintages, and have really tried to encapsulate what I call ‘California modern comfort’ but what they call luxury winemaking without the alcohol. It’s also a female founded company which I always love to support.

An ocean of difference

Both wines are made from 100% chardonnay in their own eco-systems (legacy owned vineyards and winemaking rather than farming out), but the key difference is in the terroir of the regions.

Chardonnay grapes from California’s Central Coast have a long growing season, tempered by Pacific breezes and morning fog, allowing grapes to ripen slowly while retaining balanced acidity. This produces a fuller-bodied expression of Chardonnay that appeals to those who enjoy more opulent wines.

By contrast, Chardonnay grapes from the Côtes de Gascogne region of southwest France reflect a cooler, more temperate climate and the limestone-rich soils of the area. These conditions yield lighter-bodied more elegant wines with crisp acidity and bright citrus notes. Gascogne chardonnay typically sees little to no oak, allowing its mineral structure to shine.

So perhaps we’re comparing apples to oranges?

Dealcoholization method

Oceano has the benefit of being able to use the BevZero spinning cone in California, whereas Moderato uses low-temperature vacuum distillation. Both methods have their benefits, but in my experience the spinning cone allows for better preservation of aromas. We shall see!

Aroma

I love the wet stone smell of the Moderato, because it smells like a young, green wine rather than just burnt juice. Not much fruit on the nose but a hint of butter and possibly some oak.

The Oceano on the other hand has aromas of butter, lemon and possibly an aromatic like jasmine. It definitely reflects the style of a warm climate California chardonnay.

Taste

Oceano Zero Chardonnay has a rich, almost buttery flavour with a salinity that really sticks - and when I say buttery, it’s not hit you over the head buttery like Fre Chardonnay. It’s also not as acidic as the usual non-alcoholic chardonnays, which often heavily favour green apple and lemon notes to drive the brightness. It’s actually quite mellow with a hint of tangerine and gentle white orchard fruit rounding out the buttery notes. Not a hint of oak. I do know the winemaker has admitted to adding in orange blossom aroma after dealcoholization to regain some complexity, but I actually didn’t detect any orange notes (whether you agree with this practice or not, it’s just not there). It’s actually a fantastic dupe of a lighter style California white.

The Moderato Cuvee Revolutionnaire Chardonnay is definitely a French wine. It’s so soft and buttery, with white fruit, a nice pop of bright citrus and light oak notes. It does taste more like a warm climate wine than expected of the Côtes de Gascogne, and it’s missing the minerality of a French chardonnay. But regardless, this wine will have you coming back for seconds and thirds. It’s light and refreshing, and the only downside is I wished it had slightly more acidity to finesse the softness.

Mouthfeel

The Oceano was a little thinner than I expected but honestly, not something that detracts from the wine. It’s actually quite pleasant, because often n/a wines trying to mimic California favourites are cloyingly thick from added juice and it doesn’t balance out with enough acidity or structure. The reason it’s a thinner liquid is due to the very very low amount of sugar per glass. Clocking in at 1g of sugar, I think this is one of the best examples of an n/a white staying at nearly no sugar, while maintaining some structure and body.

Moderato is a little more weighty and juicy, with a silky feel. It does fall apart a little at the end, but I felt like it was just perfect actually. A nice experience all around!

Food pairing

Moderato is meant to be paired with food, and my first foray into this wine was pairing it with broiled lemon salmon, new herbed potatoes and oven roasted rainbow carrots. It was a great pairing and the soft acidity of the chardonnay was an excellent accompaniment to the fatty salmon and dry roasted starches.

For me, California chardonnay was always my go-to ‘chips and chard’ wine and so I couldn’t resist trying that out, but to be a fair and equal test I would need to pair the Oceano with salmon and vegetables too. Its profile would be great with fish but I think it could really sing with sweet and savoury dishes like herbed apple pork tenderloin or stuffed chicken. I’ll keep you posted next time I have a bottle open!

Results

It was actually extremely difficult to taste these two wines side by side. They are so completely different and unique that I had to go back two times throughout the day and finally reassessed them on their own to finalize my thoughts. That’s a me problem, not a you problem!

I was SHOCKED to admit, as the experiment went on, to find out that I liked the Oceano Zero slightly more than the Moderato which was a huge surprise. I really enjoyed my first bottle of the Moderato a few weeks ago, and paired it with salmon one night and popcorn the second night and I couldn’t get enough. So it’s still a really good wine, but up against this California chard, it was definitely lighter and less structured.

That being said, both of these wines are heads above the bargain basement chardonnays from the grocery store. Either chardonnay is a good pick and remember the rule: chill that chardonnay until your teeth chatter! :)

Cheers!

Score for Oceano: 96 points

Score for Moderato: 93 points

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

Upgrade now to our paid plan and get 25% off for 1 year, including fresh n/a wine recommendations, private promo codes and special event invitations.

Get 25% off for 1 year

Zeno has been in my peripheral vision for about a year now. I tried their still rosé and did not like it at all, but heard great things about the sparkling wine. I’ve tasted it and really enjoyed it, but haven’t had a chance to review it fully - if you like elderflower notes in your wine, you’ll absolutely love the Zeno Sparkling White with its complex yet crisp profile and lovely acidity.

Today I’m trying the Zeno red because it’s that time of year when people are looking for cozy drinks and red wines to enjoy in front of the fire. Zeno red is also available in both the U.S. and Canada, which is always a bonus for readers on both sides of the border (in Canada, it’s just Zeno with no varietal on the label available through SommZero, in the U.S. it’s called Zeno Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon available through the Zeno website).

Background on Zeno Wines

Zeno was founded in December 2022 by wine-trade veterans David Hodgson and Will Willis, after three years of intensive research and development aimed at creating premium non-alcoholic wine. Zeno is based in the U.K. but their grapes come from a single-estate, organic vineyard in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. Winemaking and dealcoholization are carried out in partnership with Spanish winery partners. As a side bar, David and Will are hilarious cheeky guys that keep popping up doing silly things on the Zeno TikTok account.

Zeno describes its red blend as a vibrant ruby red with a bright salmon-pink edge. It’s made using traditional fermentation followed by dealcoholization. The result clocks in at less than 0.5% ABV, with 2.8 g of sugar per serving - which I really love in a red wine, but in this case, low calorie and sugar has consequences.

Aroma

On the nose, there’s there’s a nice lift of black fruit and spice which doesn’t really stand out from other bottles of non-alcoholic reds at this price point. But… it doesn’t smell like grape juice, and that’s always a good sign.

Taste

On the palate, Zeno really leans into fruit and spice, showing notes of blackberry, raspberry, plum, and a very light peppery finish. There’s a lot of tannins, in fact too much I think. Similar to Oddbird Addiction, when winemakers overcompensate with added tannins after dealcoholization, it throws off the natural balance. It does gives the wine some grip and keeps it from feeling cloying, but at the expense of complexity.

Mouthfeel & Experience

That said, the absence of alcohol is really felt in this one. The texture is noticeably thinner than most of the better reds. It’s not necessarily “watery” but definitely lacking something. The finish is lighter and shorter than what a cabernet tempranillo blend would normally deliver. It also oxidizes very quickly and was not drinkable the next day unlike Zeronimo which can last for almost a week without breaking down.

What to pair with Zeno Cabernet Tempranillo

If served at room temperature and not chilled, it could shine with the right foods. It’s dry backbone would be great with burgers and BBQ.

Overall

The standard for non-alcoholic cabernet tempranillo is from Edenvale Expedition Series and to this day sets the bar for how that varietal is dealcoholized. The Zeno red is good, but not great and I was really expecting a better expression of this delicious combination.

I don’t want to discourage you from trying this wine, but realistically know it’s lighter than a cabernet tempranillo should be and doesn’t have the complexity needed to carry it through.

Score: 89

I’d love to hear below if you tried this and what you think of it.

Have a great weekend!

-Sarah Kate

Thank you to Alex at SommZero for providing this sample bottle for me. This review is not sponsored or endorsed.

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

I was a sucker for a soft, velvety merlot back in the day. I know a lot of wine drinkers who can’t stand the stuff, thanks to the popularity of cheap merlot in the 90s (I’m looking at you Gato Negro), but great merlot is really a treat and an underrated gem in the wine world. When I saw that a new non-alcoholic wine brand from France is making a merlot-tannat blend, I went gaga. I had to have it and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

Moderato is a non-alcoholic wine brand new to the U.S. and Canada, produced in France with a very French ethos. Co-founders Fabian and Sebastian both love French wine, are from winemaking families and are trés passionate about the country’s long heritage of winemaking and the legacy of the numerous terroirs across it. Their focus is on preserving the joie de vive of French wines, but using innovation to remove the alcohol so everyone can feel included.

From their website: “We love wine, a little, a lot, passionately. Its history, its terroir, its moments, its pleasures, its nuances, its pairings, its conviviality. We love it so much that we would like to be able to enjoy it more often.”

Essentially, they are working towards a reinvention of the French wine tradition without the alcohol.

Their grapes are all grown in single vineyards in the south west of France, in the Cotes du Gascogne (Gascony) region, where they practice sustainable viticulture focusing on biodiversity and environmental sustainability.

But at the end of the day, is their wine any good?

Mais oui!

Listen, not every single nonalcoholic wine is going to be a heavy hitter, but with the Moderato Merlot-Tannat I just thoroughly enjoyed drinking it. Sure, it wasn’t as elegant and complex and château worthy as Zeronimo, but it was damn delicious.

Good merlot is soft, velvety and silky (god, I miss merlot….) with a touch of chocolate, vanilla, blackberry and good tannins. Tannat on the other hand is very tannic and dark, a broody but juicy varietal. The two together bring out the best in each other. The only other merlot-tannat I’ve ever had is from Uruguay, believe it or not, where tannat is wildly popular. It’s origins are in the south west of France though, which is why it’s perfect for the Moderato blend.

The Moderato Merlot-Tannat is 96% dealcoholized wine and 4% grape must, which to me is a great ratio of retaining some of the original spirit, but adding some texture and flavour back in.

Aroma

On the nose, you’ll experience the deep rich cherry notes of a merlot, married with some delicious licorice notes and small red fruit that probably reflects the tannat in the blend. Just so lovely!

Taste

The first thing I noted about this wine is that it’s nice and dry, with some structured tannins. There are bright juicy berry notes that pop with a hint of acidity, layered with a nice soft juicy dryness. It tastes nothing like grape juice, which I was worried about because of the merlot. It’s a touch on the sweet side for someone like me that likes dry wine, but that doesn’t ruin the experience.

Mouthfeel/Experience

What I loved about this red is that it has a bit of a richness to it, along with a silky texture, rare in the n/a red wine space. It was just such a pleasure to drink.

What to pair with it

The Moderato Merlot-Tannat is a perfect non-alcoholic red for cheese plates, pizza, homey casseroles or even stuffed baked shells. It’s juicy and dry so you can pair it with things that need a touch of sweetness to balance out the savoury.

Overall

Score: 93 points

I was hoping for a little bit more depth or at least a little hint of pepper and there’s not really any length to this wine, but it was easy drinking and tasty. Despite the lack of complexity, it doesn’t taste like a cheap non-alcoholic wine, but rather something that is truly a solid ‘house wine’.

One thing to note was this wine spoiled really fast. The next day it was ok, but the day after it was undrinkable. This is quite a delicious wine so I think you’ll finish most of the bottle in an evening, especially if you’re sharing. But just note this is not a wine to keep in the fridge for a few days!

I’d love to hear below if you tried this and what you think of it.

Have a great weekend!

-Sarah Kate

Thank you to Alex at SommZero for providing this sample bottle for me. This review is not sponsored or endorsed.

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

A really juicy item for you today. Today’s issue is quite a long non-alcoholic bubbly review because this was just such an interesting wine. There’s a long, and somewhat nerdy section about the wine making process, so please feel free to skip down to the review if that’s a snore for you.

Before we jump in - don’t forget about the virtual talk and happy hour on September 17 at 8:00p.m. EST: Functional Drinks 101. Free for paid subscribers (just RSVP here) or for free subscribers, upgrade to a one month paid subscription for $10 for access.

Wine Review: BOLLE Blanc de Blanc

At long last, I’ve finally had the chance to review the infamous BOLLE Blanc de Blanc sparkling to see what all the hype is about.

I first heard about BOLLE on LinkedIn where founder Gary Read is active in the non-alcoholic community. BOLLE only came to North America in early 2025, so it’s still relatively new to most of us. It’s claim to fame is a list of several Michelin-star restaurants it’s being poured at, including the 2-star Birdsong in San Francisco and 3-star Fat Duck in the U.K., and a lengthy list of other fine dining establishments.

What intrigued me about BOLLE is the supposed Champagne taste on a Cava budget - or at least that’s what I’ve surmised from reading comments and reviews.

It does feel like a new non-alcoholic wine is launching every week, so I had to wonder why this one felt so special. After speaking briefly with cofounder Gary Read, I discovered Read and his partner Ricardo Vanin have established two pretty incredible innovations that have potentially changed the landscape for dealcoholization.

Secondary Fermentation

Tackling the loss of flavour and mouthfeel during dealcoholization is the thorn in every winemakers side. The BOLLE team had the novel idea to use secondary fermentation, instead of adding extra sugar and fillers to ‘fix’ the wine like many winemakers currently do. This is an age-old process in which finished, fermented wine goes into a clean tank for a secondary fermentation, producing a more filtered, clearer liquid - not as common now in modern winemaking.

With dealcoholized wine, Vanin discovered that using secondary fermentation with added yeast allows flavour and complexity back into the liquid. As Read described, “this step is essential for bringing back what makes wine, wine.”

Patented Yeast

But what about the yeast? Doesn’t that produce alcohol again? The second industry-altering innovation at BOLLE is patenting a new yeast strain that only produces minimal alcohol. In an interview with Dry Atlas, Read explained the results.

“This innovation is so unique that we’ve filed two patents: one for the process and one for the yeast. Roberto’s scientific approach, honed over decades in R&D, is what made this possible. The result is a product that delivers a true wine experience—aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel—all without added sugar or artificial enhancements.”

Minimal Intervention

Keeping liquids low in sugar is a definite priority for consumer driven brands these days, and because there hasn’t been any added sugar, BOLLE comes in at 2.8g per 100ml which is probably the sweet spot especially with naturally occurring sugars.

At the core of the process for BOLLE is the desire for minimal intervention. Read and both his partners believe “that winemaking should be as natural as possible and the characteristics of the wine should not be created through added ingredients either before or after the dealcoholization.”

And with all of that innovation going into the wine, there is definite sticker shock when you see how affordable the wine is at just over $30USD - half the price of Society De La Rassi sparkling, and maybe twice as good? We’ll see!

My expectations were very high and I was really excited to pop this cork. Read on to see whether I have “Become a Bolliever”!

Background

A blanc de blanc wine is a term most often associated with the Champagne region and mostly refers to a sparkling wine with 100% chardonnay grapes, although it can be a blend. The BOLLE Blanc de Blanc is 75% Chardonnay and 25% Silvaner which is a light Alsacian varietal with a citrus and mineral backbone.

The BOLLE grapes are grown in La Mancha, Spain, and then developed into wine at a family winery. The juice is then transported to the BOLLE facility in the U.K. for dealcoholization with double spinning cone technology, and finessed through it’s secondary fermentation.

Aroma

Because of the secondary fermentation, the aroma of BOLLE is just stunning. Notes of bready yeast, stone and a hint of mineral. Read explained “this comes from the autolysis of yeast cell walls during secondary fermentation, creating those classic aromas that wine lovers expect from quality sparkling wines.” One of the best aromas from an n/a bubbly in a long time.

Mouthfeel

I was immediately blown away by the very creamy and soft effervescence. Using secondary fermentation in a dealcoholized wine means there’s no need to add CO2 as ‘carbonation’ because the yeast will create natural carbonation. Sometimes a non-alcoholic wine has what I call ‘big carbonation’ and it feels more like drinking a soda than a wine. The BOLLE is smooth and creamy, and there is heft to the liquid. According to Read “the bubbles last longer in the glass, feel more elegant on the palate, and provide that authentic sparkling wine experience rather than the harsh, artificial carbonation you get from injected CO2.” I concur!

Taste

I had really high expectations for this wine, and they were met. It’s just a wonderfully delicious liquid. Notes of pear, tangerine and apple with a subtle toastiness, and brioche on the finish. The wine is delicate without being fragile, and has enough complexity to be great with food. Nice and bright with medium acidity.

What to Pair with BOLLE Blanc de Blanc

There is nothing a good champagne doesn’t go with, right? And I would say with this non-alcoholic bubbly, the same is true. It’s definitely not a house wine, but at the very approachable price, I would pair it with a weeknight roast chicken or bring it to a dinner party for appetizers and oysters. A dream with a soft cheese plate.

I want BOLLE to keep innovating and helping to push the category forward - I really think this category is so very early and has so much growth ahead of it. I/we believe in this passionately! - Gary Read, Founder

Overall

An approach to traditional winemaking and leveraging the natural abilities of the grape and of the yeast have created a crazy good non-alcoholic wine that I truly did not expect. While the Zeronimo Sparkling Select is still number one on my list, the BOLLE Blanc de Blanc is definitely a close second until I have a chance to do a side-by-side tasting. Well done!

Overall score: 97 points

You can find BOLLE Blanc de Blanc at The Zero Proof with this link - 15% OFF your entire cart, no promo code needed, discount applied at checkout!

I’d love to hear if you’ve tried this one and if you liked it or hated it - comments are open to paid subscribers below this post so please feel free to share your POV.

ALL MY FREE WINE REVIEWS CAN BE FOUND AT SOMEGOODCLEANFUN.COM.

Cheers and have a great weekend!

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.

Here are your promo codes for SENTIA Spirits - any product. My recommendation is the GABA Red!

Use the regional links below, and then use Code SARAH10 at checkout:

SENTIA US Main Page
SENTIA UK Main Page

Cheers!

-Sarah Kate

Read more

I went to a big Russian wedding last night and it was the first big event I’ve been to since I quit drinking (I’m at that age where our friends are all married with kids or teenagers!). I was actually worried a little bit because if you’ve ever been to a Russian banquet hall, you know that each table is filled with alcohol - carafes of vodka and multiple wine bottles. This was also a place that would absolutely never consider bringing in non-alcoholic options, so I didn’t even ask. What did I do instead? I asked for ginger ale in a champagne flute during the reception, and during the very long evening of 100 courses of food and dancing, I drank compote, water and diet coke. And I honestly didn’t even care that a bottle of red wine was sitting uncorked right in front of me. I had a lot of fun dancing and eating and although this morning my feet hurt, I’m not hungover and that’s worth everything!

Before we jump in to the wine review:

A reminder that the first Some Good Clean Fun Drink & Learn Happy Hour virtual event is coming up on September 17th, where I will be doing a deep dive on functional drinks and I’m hoping to have a surprise special guest (TBD). The event is free for paid subscribers or $10 (one monthly membership) for non-subscribers. Registration details will be available next week!

Today’s Wine Review

When I used to drink regular wine, some of my favourite go-to finds were from Spain and Portugal and one of those was a varietal called Albariño. Albariño is for summer. It’s often intensely fruity, very fragrant and flavours of lemon, grapefruit, apricot, pear and peach. Maybe even jasmine. It has a nice salinity, thanks to it’s proximity to the ocean. Sometimes it will take on a mineral savouriness which I used to pair with oysters and seafood.

I was surprised to hear that the Missing Thorn white, from Napa winemaker Aaron Potts, was an Albariño as I didn’t think it was typically grown in the United States. I’ve now discovered that there are niche vineyards in California and Oregon dabbling in this varietal. The stakes were high (and those of you who have been around for awhile know that I didn’t like the red from Missing Thorn at all!).

Missing Thorn is produced in San Luis Obispo, California and the White is made from 100% Albariño grapes in stainless steel tanks, and using low-temperature vacuum distillation to remove the alcohol.

To be honest, I’m really really conflicted on this one and it could be that it’s just my personal preference that is making the call on this. My husband says on a grape juice scale it’s 6 or 7 out of 10 (where 1 is pure grape juice).

Aroma

I didn’t really love the aroma at first because it was hard for me to coax anything out of the glass. But after some aggressive swirling, I got to the heart of the wine and some lovely lemon, clay and dried hay notes.

Taste

I loved the brightness and the nice salinity in this off-dry non-alcoholic white. Although they’ve added too much grape juice concentrate to the raw dealcoholized product (which makes it slightly sweeter than I expected), it still has some of the characteristics of Albariño like the salinity and minerality. Really juicy peach and apricot notes jump out at me. It doesn’t taste mind-blowing but there is some complexity in the backbone which only appears after you’ve had a few sips.

Mouthfeel/Experience

Acceptable length for a juicy white. Medium minus body and although it’s not thin, it’s obvious the added grape juice is what is contributing to the weight and I think it’s a bit too much. Adding extra sugar back into dealcoholized wine isn’t always the answer and much less high-profile brands are innovating and finding solutions for this.

There are 5g of sugar per 8 oz glass, which means it’s on the higher side for sugar unless you’re having a smaller glass.

Serving and what to pair it with

My suggestion is first to let this wine warm up just a little after pulling it from the fridge. It’s flavours are really enhanced when it’s a touch warmer and I liked it better than when it was fridge cold. This is definitely a wine for oysters, because of the salinity, and it would be an alright accompaniment for white fish without a sauce and dry-rubbed pork tenderloin.

Overall

The risk with this non-alcoholic white is that someone unfamiliar with non-alcoholic wines will taste this and not appreciate the struggle to coax characteristics out of a Spanish varietal. It’s got some great characteristics but as mentioned, the added grape must seems to mask the personality a little too much. For a freshman effort, it’s ok. I think Aaron Potts and team have the bones of a great drink and I hope they are working on refining it for the next vintage.

Score: 91 points

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Sarah Kate

How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):

95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers

90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.

85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.

80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.