New And Classic Low-No Alcohol Wines – Just In Time For Moderate January

After the dining and wining excesses of the holidays, many consumers are looking for healthier food and drink options during the month of January. Though a small segment will partake in “Dry January,” where they choose not to consume any alcohol at all; others opt for “Moderate January, where lower alcohol options are preferred. Fortunately there are many new lower-alcohol wine options that have appeared in the market in the last two years, along with some classics that never go out of style. Following is an overview of some of the new and traditional low and no alcohol wine options, also referred to as the “no-low” or “better for you” wine category.

No-Alcohol Wine Category Attracts Innovative Newcomers

With many wines in the US market ranging from 12 to 15% alcohol, no-alcohol wines are gaining more attention. Though more challenging to craft a product that tastes like real wine – many products range from tasting like sweet grape juice to diluted flavored water – there has been some innovation in this category, resulting in new brands to consider. Table 1 lists some of these newcomers, along with a few classic brands, such as Ariel, Fré, and St. Regis.

Some of the above brands are only offered in cans, or recommend larger serving sizes than the standard 5 ounce glass of wine. If this was the case, the calories and carbs were re-calculated to 5 ounces. Also, the majority of these wines are made with wine grapes, but Juke’s – one of the newcomers to the non-alcohol wine scene – is actually made with apple cider vinegar. The founder, Matthew Jukes, is based in London, and after years working as a professional wine taster and wine writer, he created this unique beverage that mirrors the flavor and complexity of wine.

Low-Alcohol Wine Category Adding Many New Brands

There have been many newcomers to the Low-Alcohol wine category in the past two years. In general, most of these wines range from 7% to 10% alcohol per 5 ounce serving, and have lower calories than regular wine. Alison Crowe, winemaker for Sea Wave low-alcohol wine, describes the reason for the alcohol range: “Being that some wines can naturally fall to 11% alcohol, like some sparkling products, rosés and Rieslings, I tend to think “Low Alcohol” wines as a category are 10% and under. The 7%-10% is a bit of a “sweet spot” in that you can still taste and drink like a wine, but calories and carbs are significantly lower.” Table 2 lists some of the new brands in this category.

Low Alcohol Wine Cocktails, Flavored and Seltzer Wines

There are also a number of new Low-Alcohol flavored wines, seltzer, and wine cocktails that have been introduced to in the U.S. market in the past couple of years. These compete with hard seltzers from the beer and spirits categories, such as the very popular White Claw hard seltzer. What sets them apart from regular wine is that they have added flavors, such as fruit, herbs, seltzer water, or other ingredients in addition to wine. Also, they are usually lower in alcohol, ranging from between 4 to 6%. Examples include: Line 39 Wine Spritzers (5% alcohol, 100 calories), Barefoot Hard Seltzer (4% alcohol, 70 calories) and Del Mark Wine Spritzer (4% alcohol, 95 calories, amongst others.

Better for You Wine Category Has Fuzzy Boundaries

Some wine brands advertise themselves as “better for you,” because they offer lower calorie and carbs, but the alcohol level is still in the standard range of 12 to 14%. A new entry in this category is Fresh Vine, with a cabernet sauvignon that is 101 calories and 3.3 carbs per 5 ounce serving, but has an alcohol level of 13. 3%. Other brands that are similar include: Liquid Light, Bev, Fitvine, and Alvaline, amongst others.

In the end, whether you participate in Dry or Moderate January, or not, there are now many more wine options to match your goals than there were several years ago. Also, it is helpful to keep in mind, that according to the USDA, a 5 ounce serving of dry red wine averages around 125 calories and 3.8 carbs. It’s really just the level of alcohol that needs to be considered more carefully.