Sue and I are still searching for non-alcoholic wines that pass our “Second Glass Test.” We think that NA wines should remind us of the types of wines they are based on and be tasty enough that we would ask for a second glass. It doesn’t hurt if the NA wines are priced in the same range as their alcoholic cousins, but that’s not a strict requirement.

Mionetto’s NA Italian Sparkling wine is a good example of what we are looking for. Mionetto is a famous maker of Prosecco wines, so their NA wine (packaged in the same style but a different color than their Prosecco wines) needed to remind us of Prosecco and be good enough for a second glass. It passed the test and we even found it for about the same price as Mionetto Prosecco at Total Wine. You can read about some of our other NA wine experiences here.

Castello di Amorosa

We were excited when the folks at Castello di Amorosa offered us a sample of their NA wine, a non-alcoholic “Libero” Moscato from the Dennison Road Vineyard north of Boonville in the Anderson Valley. The Anderson Valley designation instantly made the idea of the wine appealing and a tasting sealed the deal. The wine reminded us of slightly fizzy Moscato for sure, but with better balance than a lot of Moscato wines we’ve tasted, and with enough acidity to nicely balance the 27 g/l residual sugar. Sue especially noted the rich mouth-feel, which is often absent in NA wines. The $27 retail price is not out of line for NA wines.

It looks and tastes like the folks at Castello di Amorosa take their NA wines seriously. With this in mind, we peered deeper into the Castello di Amorosa catalogue and zeroed in on their non-alcoholic winegrape juice. This isn’t wine that has had the alcohol removed. It is winegrape juice that has never been fermented at all. Significantly, I believe, this isn’t just leftover juice put in bottles for kids to enjoy at the tasting room. I think it is carefully and intentionally made for seriously pleasurable consumption.

Sue and I tried the Muscat Canelli grape juice first and were impressed with the balance and mouth-feel. It reminded us of a good Muscat and was a pleasure to drink. Who knew that winegrape juice could be so satisfying? I don’t think it is an accident. I sense a serious effort to harvest the grapes at the right moment for balanced juice, which would be very different time  from the sweet spot for making wine. The $14 retail price is good value compared to most NA wines.

The winery’s tasting note captures the character of the wine:

Tasting Notes: Delicate geranium petals, orange blossom, and honeysuckle aromas give way to vibrant flavors of ripe pear, sun-kissed mandarin, and crisp green apple, balancing sweetness with Fresh Acidity.

The grape juice was good, so we took the next step and made a spritz with ice, the juice, some mint, and tonic water. It was great, with the Muscat character still there. A great NA summer quencher that we would be happy to serve guests as we might do with white port spritz.

A Juicy Red Blend

We haven’t tried many NA red wines that passed the Second Glass test, so we were excited to try Castello di Amorosa’s non-alcoholic red blend sparkling grape juice. My AI intern scoured the winery’s website and reported that the blend is

•  90% Gamay – Known for its bright red fruit flavors and floral notes, often associated with Beaujolais wines.
•  5% Grenache – Adds a touch of spice and ripe berry character.
•  5% Cabernet Sauvignon – Contributes depth, structure, and a hint of tannic grip, even in juice form.

The juice is semi-sweet and well-balanced. That Beaujolais reference rings true. It was very pleasant to drink on its own and maybe even better as the base for a spritz. More juicy than winey. And we would welcome a second glass. Sue prefers the Muscat Canelli, but both are very good.

Finally, we sampled the Gewurtztraminer winegrape juice, which was Sue’s second favorite after the Moscato. It wasn’t as aromatic and floral as I was expecting. More delicate than the other juices. Balanced and tasty. Definitely worth a second glass.

Wine and Wine-ish

Winegrape juice obviously isn’t wine or even NA wine, so what should we call it? I am inspired by the drinks list at a wine-forward Portland, Oregon, restaurant, which has a category called “Wine-ish Things.” The Castello di Amorosa winegrape juices are indeed wine-ish. They look like wine, remind us of wine, drink like wine, and satisfy like wine. No alcohol is created and none is removed in the production of these juicy treats.

So what is the bottom line? First we commend Castello di Amorosa for their Anderson Valley Libero Moscato, which is one of the best NA wines we have tested. It shows what can be done when NA wine is taken seriously.

Second, we were impressed with the grape juice experiments, which also seemed to benefit from serious efforts to make juice to appeal to wine drinkers. The juices were actually more satisfying than many of the NA wines we have tried. Maybe we need to pay more attention to winegrape juice and other variations on the wine-ish theme.