3 Of The Best Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wines To Start 2023
Forbes, United-States - Credit, Kate Dingwall
After a weeklong marathon of holiday dinners, happy hours, office fetes, and other red-and-green revelry, perhaps the last thing you want to do is drink. Or you already abstain and need something seasonal to sip on. That’s where non-alcoholic bubbly comes in.
Over the last few years, the non-alcoholic category has come into its own. Once, non-alcoholic Champagne was simply saccharine and devoid of flavor. Now, you can sip quite stellar non-alcoholic Proseccos and slightly fizzy sparkling wine, and they’ll have trappings of your favorite bubbles (only without the alcohol). All will look great in a flute, a coupe, or as a topper in a spritz.
French Bloom Le Blanc
Founded by model Constance Jablonski and the Michelin Guide’s international development manager Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger (who also has her own ties to Champagne), French Bloom is an elegant alternative to Champagne for when the occasion calls for more than soda. (It’s even carried in Le Ritz-Paris and The Carlyle in New York.).
The blanc starts with Chardonnay grapes, turned into wine, then desalcoholized using a cold vacuum distillation process — the winemaker slowly heats the wine to burn off the alcohol while preserving the flavor. Additional ingredients, like lemon juice, build out the aromatics, before the wine is topped up with French sparkling spring water for big bubbles. Serve it well-chilled and in your nicest glassware. For those who like their bubbles in a rosier hue, there’s also a rosé.
Null Wines Sparkling Verdejo
This sparkling Verdejo is part of a second launch from Null wines, a thoughtful line of no-proof wines made with craft producers around the world. It joins a zippy red and a mineral-driven white to round out your table, but the sparkling wine is particularly yummy: clean, bright, and fizzy, with a lovely acidity and fresh notes of green apple. The Verdejo is made by Diez Siglos, who harvests vineyards high up in the Rueda region.
Lili Golden Sparkler
Lili’s line of sparkling wines suits every kind of drinker. Start with a more classic blanc de blanc(ish) white — bone-dry, floral, and citrus-driven. (Think fancy sparklers for people who like nice drinks.) Each iteration starts with a verjus, then Lili builds on flavors with a botanist’s arsenal of teas, fruits, and spices.
For pet-nat or lambrusco lovers, there’s also a strawberry-hued rose bottle and a deeper rouge ruby sparkling wine. The former is fizzy and floral, with notes of ripe strawberry and hibiscus while the latter has richer red fruit notes of cranberry and plum. Both offer bright, bold bubbles and are also available in single-serve cans (less committal than a bottle!).
