Non-Alcoholic Wine

What is non-alcoholic wine?

According to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, non-alcoholic wine, also known as zero-alcohol wine, 0% alcohol and alcohol-free wine, refers to wines that don’t contain any quantifiable alcohol. Traditionally, this covers beverages produced without fermentation but now also commonly used to describe wine that has had the alcohol removed. Non-alcoholic wine or alcohol-removed wine often contains a residual 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) or less which is around the same amount of alcohol as fruit juice or a ripe banana.

What is de-alcoholised wine?

According to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, de-alcoholisation is a wine making practice in which traditional fermented wine has its alcohol removed prior to bottling. The term ‘de-alcoholised wine’ only relates to wine that has had the alcohol removed post fermentation. De-alcoholised wine usually contains residual alcohol of 0.5% ABV or less. The Wine Production Standard ensures that the process of de-alcoholisation is completely natural and does not permit the use of additives or processing aids. There are a number of different methods to remove the alcohol from wine including spinning cones, filtration and distillation. The process of making non-alcoholic wine is a craft in the same way as traditional wine making. When done well, non-alcoholic wine retains all the flavours, characters and mouthfeel of the original wine without the alcohol. Examples of exceptional non-alcoholic wine brands include Next Destination Wines and 1920 Wines. 

What is low alcohol wine?

The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code states that 'low alcohol wine' refers to wine that contains less than 1.15% ABV. The Code expressly restricts claims related to low alcohol to this defined limit. At Sans Drinks, all of our non-alcoholic wines contain ABV of 0.5% or less.

Does non-alcoholic wine have less calories?

Non-alcoholic wine does contain some calories. However, as most of the calories come from the alcohol content of wine, in general, non-alcoholic wine contains around a third to half the calories of standard wine. According to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, a beverage must contain 80 kJ/100 mL (19KCals) or less, to be claimed as 'low calorie'. At Sans Drinks, we follow these strict guidelines across our store to help you make informed shopping choices. Calorie information have been added to all of our non-alcoholic wines and we use these guidelines when using the ‘low calorie’ label. We have also created a specific section for low calorie wine where you can find all the non-alcoholic wines that meet this criteria.

Is non-alcoholic wine low sugar?

There is sugar in non-alcoholic wine. Generally, the sugar in wine is a residual sugar that comes from the fruit sugars in grapes, so it is naturally occurring. When wine is made, the yeast feeds on the sugars, which is how alcohol is formed. It is not a legal requirement to list the sugar content on alcoholic beverages so you won't often see sugar listed on alcoholic wine labels which makes it difficult to compare them to non-alcoholic wines (which do require the sugar content on the label). At Sans Drinks, you can buy many non-alcoholic wines that are low in sugar or contain no added sugar. Based on Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), beverages labeled ‘low sugar’ must not contain more than 2.5g/100 mL. To help you make informed shopping choices, we follow these government guidelines across Sans Drinks and have added the sugar content to all of our wines and only use the ‘low sugar’ label in accordance with these guidelines. We have also created a specific section for low sugar wines where you can find all the non-alcoholic wines that meet this criteria. 

Where can I buy non-alcoholic wine in Australia?

While many bottle shops are starting to stock more non-alcoholic options, their experience is firmly in the alcoholic sector so their offering is often limited and poorly researched. A 2020 Sans Drinks commissioned research project found that 65% of people who are actively cutting back on alcohol say that they don’t want to be tempted by bottle shops and avoid these stores when shopping for non-alcoholic drinks. You may also see non-alcoholic wine in your grocery stores, however these wines have a reputation of being less like wine and more like grape juice. This is the key problem we set out to solve at Sans Drinks — to make finding the best non-alcoholic wine easy and making them all available in the one place.

Does non-alcoholic wine taste the same as alcoholic wine?

When comparing the taste of non-alcoholic wine with alcoholic wine, many are very close in smell, flavour and mouthfeel. Some of the wines that taste just like their alcoholic versions, according to Sans Drinks customers, include the the Giesen 0% Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 1920 Pinot Grigio and Thomson & Scott Noughty Sparkling Chardonnay. In 2022, Body & Soul compared the Next Destination 2018 Barossa Valley Shiraz to the Penfolds Bin 389.

Non-alcoholic wine taste versus grape juice?

Non-alcoholic wine is so much more than just grape juice. Because it goes through the same process as regular wine before the alcohol is removed, it still retains much of that wine taste we know and love. There are also many questions around why non-alcoholic wines are not cheaper and we have answered this popular question for you in this blog post: Why zero alcohol drinks aren't cheap like lemonade.

Can you buy non-alcoholic champagne?

At Sans Drinks, we stock an extensive range of premium non-alcoholic champagne, including Thomson & Scott Noughty, the non-alcoholic wine that BBC Good Food called the leading alcohol-free alternative to champagne. We also stock Odd Bird Blanc de Blanc which has been crafted in partnership with renowned champagne expert Richard Juhlin. We have an extensive range of non-alcoholic sparkling wines, all of which are are very close to their alcoholic equivalents. If you are looking for the texture or bubbles of a great champagne, We've compiled this list of the 6 best non-alcoholic alternatives to champagne. 

When was non-alcoholic wine invented?

There is not a lot of information charting the history of non-alcoholic wine. However, we do know that one of the earliest de-alcoholisation processes came from Carl Jung in Germany and dates back to 1908. Carl Jung patented his process and the famous winery not only makes their own range of non-alcoholic wine, they also remove the alcohol for many other brands. In Australia, Edenvale, who started making alcohol-free wine in 2006, was the first brand to exclusively make non-alcoholic wine. Since then, the market has exploded with many mainstream wine brands such as Wolf Blass, Jacob's Creek, Giesen, Tempus Two and Brown Brothers all producing a non-alcoholic wine range.

Which non-alcoholic wine is best?

The best non-alcoholic wine is the one that suits your unique taste and preference. If your favourite wine is champagne, you will love the Thomson & Scott Noughty Sparkling Chardonnay — it's organic, B Corp Certified and vegan friendly. If your favourite wine is a pinot grigio, then you will love the 1920 Wines Pinot Grigio or if you enjoy a big Barossa Shiraz, you'll love the 2018 Barossa Valley Shiraz from Next Destination Wines.