Alcohol free wine

03/03/2012 - 04:44

Does anybody know where or if one can buy alcohol free wine here in Italy, I have tried everywhere to no avail.In the UK there is a fantastic selection. I suppose the concept is unheard of and laughable to your average Italian.

Comment

I haven't seen alcohol-free wine but I'd be very interested to know if it is available. Normally to avoid being made to feel a water-drinking killjoy in social situations, we take along the non-alcoholic aperative drinks that come in little bottles like Campari and zero alcohol beer, which is now easily found. But the little bottled drinks are, I'm sure, very high in sugar so it would be good to find an alternative. I would be interested in other opinions about Italian attitudes to wine - my impression is that many of my Italian friends drink very moderately and some don't drink at all and they are in fact more accepting of non-drinkers than my non-Italian friends. I get fed up when my choosing not to drink is taken as a criticism of those who do drink and I am made to feel that I'm spoiling their fun - it's simply my choice because alcohol disagrees with me but I think that wine is a gift of god that enhances meals and conviviality and I'm envious of those who can enjoy it. Sorry to rant - feel much better now!

I thnk Italians would call it grape juice rather than wine if there was no alcohol then it just isn't wine. They either drink moderately or mix it with water, which at first I thought was a waste of good wine but actually its not a bad idea if you want to stay sober longer. It's a real pity that this hasn't been sorted by now, a real gap in the market. Surely its possible to produce a full bodied good quality wine without alcohol. All the bad press about alcohol abuse/drink driving/health risk etc, so why hasn't it been done? I know there are some wines in the UK but the stuff I remember was like washing up water, it would need to be good quality to sell but if it was done right it would be a winner.

Forgive me if I seem a little bemused, but what is the point !!! If you don't want Wine but like the 'taste' get grape juice freely available in all supermarkets. I can never see the point of non alcoholic equivalents of beer, wine or anything else for that matter, and to try to see if people can tell the difference is absurd.... try peeing down their back and asking them if it's raining !!! You are a Marketing Mans dream to seek out such products as they will charge you twice as much for normal grape juice labeled 'Alcohol Free Wine'. Any way I think you would find it next to the aisle that sells Life I suggest you pick one up there as well...

I'm bemused by the concept of alcohol free anything - I love a good drink (just opening a bottle of Prosecco as I type!) - I'm also just as happy not drinking alcohol at all - in fact if I'm not drinking I usually have something totally different - tonic water/bitter lemon (and then maybe a gin or 2 can be snuck in too - only joking!!!) I've never yet come across anyone/anywhere who has a problem with me not drinking..........usually the opposite. Most of my friends struggle with the concept of not drinking alcohol so have the utmost respect when I choose not to!

I very, very rarely drink alcohol and people have often expressed great surprise when I say I don't drink. Sometimes they then ask me 'why not'? I love to watch the totally shocked, embarassed and then pitying expression on their faces when I reply... "I'm a recovering alcoholic".

I understand what you are saying Flip, I never see the point of low fat yogurt or sugar free biscuits (unless you are diabetic) its like taking the fun out of the product. But I have to disagree that grape juice tastes like wine. They are two very different tastes. I love cider but apple juice is pure poison. I would like to try the non-alcoholic stuff purely for experimental purpose to see if its good enough to fool people. Beverage companies have been trying for years to produce something close to the real thing and failed but if it they ever succeed and it doesn't cost twice the price then it would sell.

Grape juice is no substitute for wine. Why is it so difficult to understand that someone who doesn't want alcohol may still enjoy the flavour of wine with a meal? The Winezero products look interesting - thanks for researching and providing the link Qui Gia.

I understand that there is not such a thing as alcohool-free wine, unless we are talking about grape juice. "Vino analcolico" contains about 0.5% alcohol, same as many so called non-alcoholic beers. Now, th the reason why people who cannot drink alcohol try to find something which tastes like wine instead of grape juice is the fact that the dislike the sweetness of the juice (diabetics may also have problems concernin sugar or fructose content). Also, "vino analcolico" is quite expensive, particularly bearing in mind that it does contain some alcohol and that it does not taste that good. Probably, prices may come down in the future, but the alcoholic content, no matter how low, may still be an issue. If that 0.5% is not a major problem, II would rather dilute a tiny amount of wine in some water or soda...