12-07-2025
Why is non-alcoholic wine still so dreadful?
A few months ago, I took a bottle (among others, I may add) of non-alcoholic wine to a dinner party. Rare and eccentric behaviour for a wine critic, I admit, but I was driving and had a very early flight to catch the next morning to Australia.
There was another driver present and as we gathered by the fire, I gleefully remarked that I had brought something we could both 'enjoy'.
Looking back, that was ludicrously optimistic. As our host decanted his finest claret we tucked into our alcohol-free red. I quickly realised the enormity of my mistake.
Whereas the red Bordeaux had weight and texture and a complexity of flavour that evolved throughout the evening, our purple concoction tasted like a sort of medicinal, homemade damson juice. It was bland, barely drinkable and mind-numbingly dull.
