The Key Step to Making a Great Non-Alcoholic Wine

MODSUB#72

Wotcha!

Dry January is over for another year.

QUESTION FOR YOU: What’s one new drink you tried last month you would recommend to other ModSub readers?

Hit reply and let me know and I’ll share it next week.

Enjoy!

Myles

In this week’s edition:

NAN
New NA Drink News

WINE
Noughty AF - Dealcoholized Rouge

BEER
Bero - Noon Wheat

Read time: 5 minutes 33 seconds

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NAN
New NA Drink News

NORTH AMERICA

• BEER: Ever heard of a White Stout? Me either. Partake Brewing have just released their newest flavor and it sounds amazing. (Link)

• COCKTAIL: Vermont’s WhistlePig Distillery launches a limited run Sex, Drugs, Rock and Dry Old Fashioned Cocktail produced with 100% Rye Non-Whiskey, Barrel-Aged Maple and adaptogenic mushrooms. (Link)

• SPIRIT: Here’s one maybe only folks from Chicago will be able to understand. Windy City's restaurant, Void, have created a non-alcoholic version of Malört, called No-Lört and it appears to be causing a stir. (Link)

• BEER: A non-alc version of BrewDog’s Cold Beer Lager is now out. Cold AF is also now one of the beers included in a refreshed BrewDog NA Beer Variety Pack that will be hitting shelves over the next few weeks. (Link)

• WINE: A new Blanc de Blancs—L’Extra Brut—has just been launched by French Bloom. (Link)

• FUNCTIONAL: NOLO’s Louie Louie has a new flavor, Hibiscus Cherry, out now. (Link)

WORLDWIDE

• WINE: Initially available in the UK but coming to the U.S. in a month, Bolle are launching a still Chardonnay. (Link)

WINE

ModSub: For Amanda Thomson, one of the perks of being a successful arts journalist in London was how it fed her love of champagne. From movie premieres to art openings to restaurant launches, the bubbles flowed freely. It wasn’t a problem—she never went beyond a glass or two. But something struck a chord. So much so that she left journalism behind and headed to Paris to study wine at Le Cordon Bleu, with the goal of creating her own champagne brand.

Which she did—successfully.

She came to realize that she was she a wine drinker who very much stayed within her own wine lane. With little interest in deviating to beer or cocktails, once she had a glass or two of wine, she often found herself with nothing of much interest to carry on the evening. After some research, she discovered she was far from alone—there were millions of others in the same boat.

Finding a chasm where acceptable non-alcoholic wine options should have been, and never shy about taking on a new challenge, she decided to make her own and started Noughty AF.

From the beginning, her focus was on quality, purity and taste—wines that could comfortably sit alongside other good wines out in the market, free from added sugars and chemicals. Today, Noughty AF can be found in Michelin-starred restaurants, airport lounges and five-star hotels.

After finding great success with Noughty’s sparkling wines, she turned her attention to still wines. For someone who comes across as somewhat unshakable, the launch of the Dealcoholized Rouge, her first still red, was Amanda’s most nerve-wracking release. But with the blessing of a New York Times Food and Drink cover feature, the dealcoholized Syrah has gone on to become the company’s best-selling SKU in the U.S.

The wine is produced from grapes grown and harvested in the Cape Floral Region of South Africa’s Western Cape. While more medium-bodied than a regular Syrah, dark fruits take the lead from the start—somewhat sweet—but balanced by a generous amount of tannins. The finish is earthy with a hint of spice, closing out the final lap as the fruits gracefully fade.

Througout this week, I’ve tried small pours of Rouge with three or four meals and it’s been an excellent accompaniment to each of them.

My caveat with non-alcoholic red wines is they tend to produce strong opinions—so you’ll either be disappointed or tremendously excited about this one. There rarely seems to be middle ground.

In the seemingly never-ending universal quest for a good NA red wine, I at least feel genuinely heartened by this experience. Because, while I’ll keep trying new wines as they come infront of me, I will also keep coming back to Noughty’s Rouge, safe in the knowledge I have a quality non-alcoholic red wine to always fall back on. That’s a huge step in the right direction.

Oh, that simple trick to making good non-alcoholic wine? In Amanda Thomson’s words from her interview with Michele O’Brien on the Upward Spiral podcast:

“The step most people have missed—which sounds obvious but isn’t always shared—is that you need to make a good wine to start with.”

Makes sense.

How does Noughty describe their Dealcoholized Rouge: Noughty Rouge is a deliciously well-balanced red wine that is deep ruby red in colour with hints of ripe red fruit, crushed black pepper, dried rose petal and candied cherries integrated with French oak tannins.

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BEER

ModSub: Of the slew of celebrity-backed non-alcoholic drink launches over the last couple of years, one has perhaps stood out a little more than the others to me. Tom Holland’s launch of Bero made quite a splash when it was announced last October. It rode a wave of worldwide publicity, propelling the beers into the limelight with perhaps more intensity than the non-alc industry had ever really seen.

The news was everywhere—from social media to news outlets to talk shows. A byproduct of this PR tsunami sporned a conversation about the role of celebrities in this relatively new world of adult drinks sans alcohol. 

The discussion understandably touched on bandwagoning and what it meant for the industry as a whole. Did their fame bring a welcome endorsement to non-alcoholic drinks, leading people to sit up and take more notice? 

Or, more cynically, was there concern that underwhelming products from famous people were snatching the limelight from smaller players with more worthy products?

Still, even the most cynical among us would not see Holland’s open discussion about his own difficulties with alcohol as anything but authentic. So when Bero launched to such fanfare, for me at least, it felt like a win for the non-alc industry.

Bero came out of the gates with three beers: a Noon Wheat, a Kingston Golden Pils, and an Edge Hill Hazy IPA. We’ll leave the Pils and the Hazy IPA for another time, but I’m happy to report that the Noon Wheat lives up to all the hype. 

There’s an immediate aroma of citrus from the light, clear pour and an impressive head to boot. The fruit carries through from start to finish, though the malts provide a breadiness that tempers the orange and lime—the three of them seeing out the finish, arm in arm. There’s a little spice in there too, but nothing that’s going to ruin anyone’s day. It’s an impressive debut—a very smooth, very drinkable wheat beer.

“With great power comes great responsibility.” I guess I would expect nothing less from the young English actor, whether he’s spinning webs to catch villains or breaking new ground with his non-alcoholic beer. 

How does Bero describe their Noon Wheat: The Noon Wheat is light and refreshing - a crisp body with a touch of sweetness, finishing with a snappy, orange-lime twist.

READS + LISTENS
Last Week’s Edition + Other Suggestions

If you want to learn more about what it takes to not only produce a non-alcoholic beer or wine, but to then get it into bars and restaurants, this episode of Restaurant Rockstars is worth a listen. Guests are Meagan Coester of GO Brewing and Rachel Martin, founder of Oceano Wines.