foodwineclick

January Theme: Hot topics for 2025
This month, our wine writers are all picking a topic they believe is important in 2025. You can scroll to the bottom of this post to view a list of links to all our articles. What’s a hot (wine) topic for you in 2025?

Why Zero Alcohol?
2024 showed me the importance of zero alcohol “wines”. I hosted a number of tastings for general interest groups, one being a wine tasting for our condo residents association, and another for a fun group of 30-somethings. In both cases, interest was expressed in having some non-alcoholic options. There were couples where one person preferred non-alcoholic drinks. The younger crowd meant that there were pregnancies to consider. In both cases, these people were looking for something non-alcoholic they could enjoy and not feel left out. Sprite or sparkling water doesn’t cut it!

There are two types of zero alcohol “wines” I found:

• De-alcoholized wines. These products are wine in which the alcohol has been removed. However, the labeling typically indicates <0.5% alcohol. For pregnant women, this isn’t enough as they are pledged no alcohol at all. For a crowd out of their child bearing years, these can be a good choice. As a new category, I can’t recommend just picking any de-alcoholized wine off the shelf. Some are much more successful than others.
• True 0.0% alcohol drinks. I did find one 0.0% de-alcoholized wine in my sampling. Otherwise, these drinks never had any alcohol. They are based on other flavors such as tea or herbs. The most successful ones are sparkling which also helps people feel festive and included!

Disclosure: none needed. All these drinks were purchased at local wine shops.

How to Find and What to Expect
Most wine shops now have a smallish section of de-alcoholized and zero alcohol drinks, even Whole Foods wine shop. I had the best luck getting advice at our locally-owned independent wine shops where the staff provided good advice. Expect to pay a bit more for these drinks, typically $25-30 per bottle. Sales staff at several wine shops admitted they have yet to try a de-alcoholized red wine they could recommend. In Minneapolis, we have also have Marigold, a non-alcoholic bottle shop. The staff at Marigold were very helpful! You might look to see if you have a similar shop in your area.

The true zero alcohol drinks may be shelved with the de-alcoholized wines or they may be somewhere adjacent, so if you don’t see them, ask! Again, check with sales staff as they may have the opportunity to taste the options on hand.

A Sampler of Zero Alcohol Wines and Drinks
I focused my investigation on 0.0% abv as we have lots of 20-30-something aged members of our extended family, so I like to have these product on hand all the time. The photos and notes below are my impressions from a group I purchased for our family holiday celebrations this year.

Copenhagen Sparkling Tea Company “Lysegrøn” ($30 locally) 0.0% abv
Sencha / Green Tea / Citrus
Copenhagen Sparkling Tea is the hands-down winner among my non-scientific samples.
Eye: Medium honey with fine persistant mousse
Nose: Medium plus intensity aromas of white flowers, chamomile, green tea,
Mouth: Off-dry with pleasant juicy acidity, medium body, clean finish
Observations: This is the non-alcoholic drink I could enjoy as an apertif and even with a meal. There are several different flavors in this line. This has been the all-around winner in the various groups I have shared it with.

Prima Pavé
Prima Pavé was the only 0.0% abv de-alcoholized wine I found. This was a nice sparkling drink, quite floral on the nose. It’s off-dry but balanced by the carbonation.

Tōst
Tōst was very fruity and by taste was the sweetest of the bunch.

Non 5
Non 5 is very strongly herbal as they clearly state on the label. This is a drink for someone who enjoys bold flavors, not a big surprise as it’s from Australia. As with the others, it is off-dry with a nice level of carbonation.

Hot Topics for 2025 from Our Wine Writers
Take a look below to see if one of our writers has picked a topic of interest for you in 2025!
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “Wine and Food Pairings – the Logic and Science”
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “Celebrating the New Year the Armenian Way: Ghapama and Lamb Kebabs Paired with Areni Wine from Yacoubian-Hobbs“
• Andrea at The Quirky Cork shares “Albania: A New Wine Frontier”
• Camilla at Culinary Cam shares “Xers to Zoomers: Exploring the Decline in Wine Consumption + Our Thanksgiving Wines from Tablas Creek“
• Terri at Our Good Life shares “The Unveiling of Red Wine’s Hidden Health Benefits and the Surgeon General’s No-Alcohol Stance“
• Jennifer at Vino Travels shares “The Alcohol Removed Wines of Starla”
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Exploring a Dealcoholized Wine”
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares “What’s all the hubbub about non-alcoholic wine?“
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Hot Topics: A Zero Alcohol Primer“