Winners of medals from the Global Low and No Alcohol Wine Masters

Late last year, in a first for the Global Wine Masters, we applied our customary and distinctive method for blind-tasting drinks to an emerging category: low- and no-alcohol wines.

With the exception of a general indication of style (sparkling, red, white, etc.) and the price range, we assembled a team of respected palates and began evaluating all the major goods on the market.

The results were fascinating, and I’ve provided a list of ten things I’ve learned about the low- and no-alcohol wine sector as a result of this first-ever yet thorough competition below.

1. Almost a tiny amount of alcohol removal has a significant impact on a wine’s texture; 9%-ABV wines feel light, even hollow, in comparison to their standard-strength counterparts.
2. Acidity must be added to make up for the lost body caused by lowering or removing the alcohol from a wine because sweetness only partially replaces this loss (or early-picked greener fruit for white wines).
3. Due to the presence of tannins, which appear harsher and drier without alcohol and even when sugar is present, making a red wine that is acceptable with low or no alcohol is more difficult than making a white wine.
4. A hot climate Shiraz, which has rich, soft berry fruit as opposed to Cabernet Sauvignon, which has too much tannin, seems to be best suited to lower- or no-alcohol reds.
5. White wines made from aromatic grapes like Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat were the most popular low- and no-alcohol wines.
6. Chardonnay, with some of the wines exhibiting its traditional blend of butterscotch and peach flavors, was a surprisingly good source of low- and no-alcohol whites. Such goods, however, were unable to match the robust texture of a “full-strength” barrel-fermented type.
7. Sparkling wines are the finest low- and no-alcohol options because they offer structure to wines with lower ABV and freshness to wines with high residual sugar levels.
8. Australia was the top performer in terms of sources, winning the majority of the Gold and Silver medals in the competition, however, New Zealand also did well.
9. The top-scoring wines in this category are produced by Accolade Wines, McGuigan, Pernod Ricard, and Oxford Landing, indicating that the larger wine companies have the technology to produce the greatest examples.
10. As may be expected, the lower alcohol products displayed more characteristics of wine, whilst the zero-alcohol samples were more akin to fruity drinks rather than being particularly vinous.

In conclusion, our tasting demonstrated that palatable low- and no-alcohol wines may be produced using cutting-edge technology and contemporary viticultural practices. Due to the lower alcohol by volume (ABV) drinks’ lack of tactile appeal—the whites taste a little hollow and the reds taste slightly grainy—the competition also demonstrated that such goods cannot match the gratifying sensation of standard ABV wines.

However, there are products on the market that will come close to the genuine thing if you want to taste the flavors of drinking full strength wine without the affects of alcohol. So, the low- and no-alcohol wine sector has advanced considerably in a short period of time.