A few years ago, Mark Kuspira decided he was drinking too much. An Alberta-based wine and spirits importer of note, Mark knew it was an occupational hazard. He spent a week in the mountains in British Columbia hiking, kayaking and not drinking and resolved to do that more often. Maybe even a week a month.
In early 2020, a supplier told him about Oddbird, a Swedish-based non-alcoholic brand.
“The story was good, the samples were good, I was reading more and more about people turning to alcohol-free brands; it seemed to be slapping me in the face,” said Mark. “It was the trend.”
Mark began to explore the world of alcohol-free (af) beverages. He didn’t see the fit between the two categories so, rather than adding af brands to his current line up (his importing agency, Crush, has been in business for almost two decades), he started a completely new company, called Soft Crush. “Our newest and biggest clients don’t even know who Crush is. We needed it to be focused and separate. It’s the food business, not the alcohol business.”
He calls it ‘rethinking drinking.’ And, it’s a big market. “Over 25 per cent of people around the world don’t drink,” he says, “and one in four people under 25 don’t drink or want to drink less.”
Mark is working with several European and UK-based suppliers. As well, Benjamin Bridge, a wine producer in Nova Scotia that Mark has had a long association with, just debuted a new non-alcoholic Piquette called Zero.
Is Mark onto something? Many people say yes.
“I was accustomed to having a glass of wine at night, or a few drinks when I was out. It wasn’t a problem. I turned 40 and I couldn’t handle it anymore,” says Christine Webber. “I would do some work with my husband in the yard, have a beer and then I needed a nap.” Christine, a neuroscientist and U of A associate professor, started to look for alternatives. She wanted to set an example too. “I’ve got teenagers so I wanted them to know adults can get together even without alcohol.” She is such a fan, Christine created alcohol free advent calendars this Christmas and plans to continue with Dry January, Dry July and Sober October boxes. (Find her on Instagram @bigbluebirdaf).
What exactly does alcohol-free mean? At present there is no world standard. According to Soft Crush, the term alcohol free must be less than 0.05 per cent alcohol. Low alcohol has less than 1.1 per cent alcohol. But there is still a bit of alcohol so those who cannot drink at all need to stay clear. This burgeoning new category is more for those who are thinking about lifestyle changes and want to be able to have a decent beverage when they go out.
How do you make a wine with no alcohol? First you have to make the wine, otherwise it’s simply grape juice. Starting with excellent grapes and wine is the basis for a quality finished product. Alcohol, a byproduct of fermentation, provides many things to wine—weight, mouthfeel, a delivery system for aromas—as well as being an ancient and relatively natural process.
Alcohol-free wines are reverse engineered—most producers are using some form of vacuum distillation, which separates out the water and alcohol. Then, essentially, the wine is rebuilt, without the alcohol. I recall visiting a producer in the south of France in the late ‘90s who was using spinning cones to reduce the alcohol in the wines. The results were, well, not that interesting.
But, the technology has come a long way—lower temperatures preserve more flavour and texture.
“We use a patented solid phase extraction process for dealcoholization,” says André Stork, co-founder, Undone.“We preserve the aromas by separating them from the water and alcohol. We then add natural aromas and spiciness as the alcohol is no more enforcing the taste of the pure essence. After re-adding water we have a liquid where the pure essence is preserved.”
Do af wines taste exactly like wine with alcohol (ranging from 8-14 per cent)? Well, no, but they are quite drinkable, especially if you have a compelling reason—weight loss, social pressure or if you, like Mark, think you may be drinking too much.
Amanda Thompson of Thompson & Scott has always been interested in healthy food and drink. She created the sparkling wine Noughty from organic grapes. Noughty was a big winner at the Alberta Beverage Awards this year. Oddbird, created in Sweden by a former social worker, is making some delicious af alternatives including wines made from organic, hand harvested grapes in the Veneto.
Lietz in Rüdesheim, Germany crafted their first no-alcohol wines in 2007 for a Danish chef who wanted a good wine to pair with food and allow people to drive home from the restaurant. (Denmark has strict drinking and driving laws with large penalties.) There is a Pinot, two sparkling wines (in cans too), a Rosé and a delicious Riesling, Eins Zwei Zero.
Alcohol free beer on the other hand has a much easier go. Perhaps because beer is less alcoholic to begin with, or because of the way beer is made, the results taste like beer. The best brewers use specially selected yeast (Mark calls them lazy yeasts) that don’t ferment to a high degree of alcohol. Most brewers call the system they use proprietary, but the advantage seems to be what they don’t do—stop fermentation, or dealcoholize, dilute or otherwise change things.
“Sharing a beer with somebody is so much different than other social things,” says Graham Matheos, One for the Road Brewing. “People who aren’t consuming alcohol should still be able to have those experiences. It would be a horrible world if we cut beer out entirely.”
Rob Fink and James Kindred had the same motivation. They had become fathers, wanted to drink less and were frustrated by the lack of quality low-alcohol beer choices. In response they launched English company Big Drop in 2016. The beers clock in at just under the 0.5 per cent and are big on taste.
Calgary-based One for the Road makes only non-alcoholic beer. “Someone close to me needed to stop drinking,” said Graham Matheos, physiotherapist and co-owner. “I stopped drinking with them to support. Turned out I could still be an idiot with lampshade on my head without being drunk. What I wasn’t—not hungover, not grumpy with my kids. But I missed beer, I missed the culture. We (with business partner Kevin Young) started researching brewers and beers. We contract brew in Calgary; always below 0.5 per cent.It’s taken off. We thought we were going to have a garage full of beer, but now, two and half years later, we are selling across Canada and internationally.
“People can still participate in beer culture without limitations or repercussions. We’ll never be exactly the same as beer with higher alcohol, but our goal is not that. We still can contribute to happiness.”
Click images to zoom
Just what you need for dry January. Explore theses alcohol-free (or low alcohol wines, beers and spirits.
Amanda Thomson of Thomson & Scott created Noughty out of a desire to create a wine with low sugar and low- or no-alcohol that was vegan and halal certified. Noughty is all that. The Sparkling Rosé is made from Spanish Tempranillo and has lovely fresh berry sweetness. The Sparkling Chardonnay—green apple flavours and a light sweetness—from fruit grown in La Mancha. Non-alcoholic bubbles can be a bit foamy. Drink chilled, 4-6 degrees.
The Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Riesling displays citrus notes, especially lime, along with some interesting apple and rhubarb notes. The Riesling character is especially noticeable in the long finish. Have with salmon or cod with lentils. The light-bodied Pinot Noir has fragrant cherry and currant berry fruit. Your orange juice has a new partner for Mimosas in the Zero Sparkling Riesling and the Rosé Sparkling is a blend of Merlot, Portugieser, Pinot Noir.
Benjamin Bridge harnesses two current trends in wine—piquette and no-alcohol— to make their first no-alcohol wine. They use the piquette technique (wines made from grape pomace—skins, seeds, pulp, stems—aka the leftovers) to create this refresher. The skins have colour, aromatics and structure to give. The result? Benjamin Bridge Piquette Zero, a world of citrus aromas and flavours with a slight bitterness and fizz, delicious with brunch or as a pre-dinner cocktail.
Undone No.7 Not Orange Bitter Undone starts with gin and rums distilled in copper pot stills (the aperitifs start with an essence extracted from fermented grape juice) and add natural flavours, cane sugar and critic acid to replicate intensity, mouth feel and drinkability. Four German hospitality professionals wanted to drink great tasting cocktails, but without the problems associated with over imbibing. We can’t wait to make the January Negroni—equal parts #7 Not Orange Bitter, #2 Not Gin and #9 Not Red Vermouth, over ice with a big slice of fresh orange.
Oddbird, the alcohol-free company based in Göteborg, Sweden, makes three different sparkling wines. The Spumante, made with Glera grapes (the same grapes used in Prosecco) in the Veneto, has pretty flavours of grapefruit and elderflower with a pleasant fizziness. The Blanc de Blancs, made with Chardonnay from the south of France (Languedoc-Roussillon), possesses the green apple and citrus flavours characteristic of that grape variety. The Rosé has lovely strawberry notes. It’s also made in the Languedoc of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir base wines. Oddbird’s process includes 12 months aging before the wine’s alcohol is removed.
The One for the Road Stone Sofa Kolsch is an ideal after ski beer—crisp and refreshing with some presence, due to the ale yeast used in the fermentaion. Graham’s favourite bonfire beer? The Espresso Stout.
Fahr Alkoholfrei, the first non-alcoholic beer for Fahr, the wonderful brewery in Turner Valley, garnered a silver medal in the non-alcoholic category at the 2020 Canadian Brewing Awards. They make it like all their other beers but use a unique mashing technique combined with a special yeast to make this 0.4 per cent stunner. The Alkoholfrei hit the spot after mowing last summer—crisp and aromatic.
Big Drop Pine Trail Pale Ale is citrusy and hoppy. The Galactic Dark Noir Milk Stout is made with cocoa nibs, think honey and chocolate. The Paradiso IPA crafted from Chinook, Cascade, Simcoe, Citra and Columbus hops, is citrus on steroids. Big Drop beers are contract brewed in London, Ontario for the Canadian market and are gluten free.