Why is non-alcoholic wine SO expensive?
Plus, a wine review of a questionably pricey bottle; Make It Non-Alcoholic, June 25, 2025
Hello and happy Friday party people - a few things to uncork today!
But first, here is the correct link without paywall for the article I shared last week.
On tap today:
Why is non-alcoholic wine so expensive?
Wine review of a pricey bottle I’m not so sure about
Could you answer this quick poll? ⬇️
The first item up for discussion is everyone’s favourite subject, which is why is non-alcoholic wine so expensive?
I had quite a reaction to my email last week when people saw the price of Zeronimo Century Blend, so I wanted to provide my point-of-view as a lifelong student of wine (if you’re looking for the wine review and don’t care about this - just keep scrolling down!).
To put this in perspective, the traditional wine industry has several tiers of wines, from general plonk (my super scientific name) to elite bottles that go up for auction for thousands.
As a general rule, most of us start with plonk, or mid-level wine… or in my case, the $8 Chilean hidden gem (come on, it was 1999). Our palates as beginner wine drinkers have not developed yet, and so simple entry level wines are quite tasty.
We eventually outgrow our taste preferences, as our palates mature and at some point we’re ok with paying $30+ for more complex, vintage wines.
The wine industry itself mirrors this development. Between 1980 and 2025, consumers demanded and had access to more and more wine. Global production almost doubled in those years. Taste preferences also began to change as winemakers became more innovative and experimental in the range of options.
How this applies to non-alcoholic pricing
It seems pretty straightforward that the evolution of the non-alcoholic wine industry would mirror this similar trajectory. In the beginning, an entry-level tier of wines is what was first produced in early 2020s, to introduce people to the category. This was followed by the mid-level wines like Lautus or Luminara, as spinning cones advanced technology.
Finally, newly developed Zeronimo is the chateau wine of the non-alcoholic world. No other non-alcoholic wine meets its standard. When you compare their red blends with a more basic wine, like a Lautus for instance, it’s night and day.
A fine wine like Zeronimo has more handwork in the vineyard and winery, it’s more natural and has less manipulation by outside agents. Just like an alcoholic wine, its crafted with a focus on the unique characteristics of the vineyard and its terroir, showcasing the specific Austrian grape varieties and the winemaking techniques employed.
There also needs to be a wine for every occasion. You’re not going to drink your bottle of Chateauneuf on an ordinary Wednesday night (or maybe you are a baller and are drinking that on weeknights?).
If you’re choosing alcohol-free, there will be a time and place when you need the chateau wine in hand - in-laws coming for dinner, wedding anniversary or just trying to impress your wine drinking friends! And that’s when you reach for a Zeronimo Century Blend, a rare vintage wine without alcohol.
(FYI - there are only 2500 bottles of Century Blend being produced so if you’re at all interested in the possibilities of what we can do with non-alcoholic wine, invest in one bottle of this just for the experience).
Orange-wine You Glad I Didn't Say Banana? Weekly non-alcoholic wine review
And speaking of expensive wines, I sampled a very pricey non-alcoholic sparkling wine this week that was delicious but for the wrong reasons, and mysteriously overpriced. Read on for more details!
(Hello and welcome to all of our new subscribers! This is the biweekly Make It Non Alcoholic premium newsletter - the free newsletter from Some Good Clean Fun drops on alternate weeks and you can always see previous articles at our Main Page. All wine reviews open up to all subscribers at somegoodcleanfun.com after 180 days!)