Has non-alcoholic wine finally got good?

There’s no easy way to put this: people are drinking less. Thank the wellness boom or the more health-conscious Gen Z, but more and more of us are quitting alcohol – or at least cutting back. Sobriety is no longer solely the preserve of smug Instagram wellness gurus either; style and cultural arbiters such as Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Kendrick Lamar have all ditched the booze. Inebriation has never been chic, but a rise in stylish non-alcoholic bars and drinking options means sacrificing the hard stuff doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing fun.

Kylie Minogue, who launched her hugely popular wine business in 2020, has just produced her first non-alcoholic sparkling rosé after her fans told her there was a real need for good NA wines. “Although I have a wine brand, I am not a big drinker,” she tells us. “I believe a happy drink is a drink in moderation. The interest and desire for a good non-alcoholic wine was becoming more and more evident."

Whether you’re alcohol-free, sober curious, considering your calorie count or just want a night off amid the forthcoming party season, the statistics indicate that our interest in going booze-less is growing. The global low- and no-alcohol market is expected to grow by 31 per cent by 2024 and is set to top $10 billion dollars, according to Kantar. In the UK, one in three Brits visiting pubs and restaurants are going alcohol-free – a perhaps surprising figure given our country’s reputation for heavy drinking. “We knew health and wellbeing was becoming more and more important in people's lives today,” says Minogue. “So many of us are leaning in to more self-care. Responsible drinking can be made easier with great NA options available to love and indulge in.”

Related Story

Courtesy

For a lot of us, alcohol has an emotional pull; we associate it with fun, togetherness and relaxation. Asking for a pint of lemonade at the bar doesn’t have quite the same effect as ordering a glass of red. One feels grown-up and sophisticated, the other feels like something you might give your child as a treat.

Part of why we drink is about social inclusion. None of this was lost on Minogue when creating her first NA rosé. “Wine is such a historical part of our gatherings and celebrations, romantic evenings and after-work wind-downs,” she said. “I talk about this a lot with all my wines and it is a large part of why I wanted to start this venture – the ‘experience’ of wine. The importance of the moment, whether it is for yourself or sharing it with others, and this can still be cherished with a NA wine.”

Although it’s relatively easy to switch to non-alcoholic beers because its two main flavouring ingredients, malt and hops, are still present, it’s a more challenging story with wine. The results are often watery, sugary and, frankly, somewhat miserable. Why is this? Most non-alcoholic wines are created by extracting the the alcohol out of a regular wine with spinning cone or reverse osmosis technology. While this process removes alcohol, it usually also strips the fruit flavour, leaving a hollow taste and dulling the aromas or textures we might enjoy. “To counteract this ‘watery’ taste, producers typically add sugar to the wine, which makes it incredibly sweet and lacking in structure, so not ideal,” says Minogue. “Our zero percent sparkling rosé is made very differently. We start with premium grapes that are fermented with good bacteria, rather than yeast. Utilising this process and not adding yeast means alcohol is not created as the grapes are fermenting. To add to the flavour and structure of the wine, we also infuse the wine with hand-selected teas.”

She believes that the process results in a drink that “tastes like the wine you may be accustomed to but without the calories you would expect”. In fact, she’s so pleased with the flavours of the sparkling rosé, she envisages introducing more non-alcoholic wines to her repertoire in the future. “My team worked so hard to deliver the best possible and I am genuinely OTT excited about this,” she says. “The colour is gorgeous, the bubbles shimmer away in a champagne glass and it's delicious. It still feels utterly celebratory.”

Kylie Minogue's sparkling rosé is available to buy now.

Related Story

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qa3RqZyrq5KWx6Kt0WeaqKVfqrhwr9Slq66qlWS0sLXNoGSoraRkrnV9lnFvbWhkZLuwuoyao5ynmKS5qq%2BMsKCnnV2gxq21xGakoqafnMKmew%3D%3D