If you consider the phrase “non-alcoholic wine” for a moment, it seems that this might just be referring to a glass of unfermented grape juice. Wine is defined as an alcoholic beverage made from grapes or other fruits, but a company called Jukes Cordialities has created wine – sans the fermentation process and alcohol content. Launched by wine critic and writer Matthew Jukes, the company is focused on providing the same complexities and nuances found in a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
There are many reasons one might choose to avoid drinking alcohol – pregnancy, being the designated driver, religion, health reasons, or simply just not being in the mood for a buzz. We’re also entering the holiday season where alcoholic beverages are seemingly always poured, and it’s nice to take a break from the non-stop booze.
I had the opportunity to do a virtual tasting with Matthew Jukes, and try the company’s three different varieties of alcohol-free wine. The alternative wines come in small 30mL (~1 ounce) bottles, which contain two servings. To serve the wine, it’s recommended that half the bottle is mixed with 5oz of still or sparkling water.
The Jukes 1 varietal is meant to mimic a white wine with flavors of peach, citrus, herb, and cucumber. Jukes 8 is rosé-inspired, with flavors of melon, pear, rhubarb, and pomegranate. The dark purple-red Jukes 6 is fruity and spicy, with notes of berries and plum.
All of the varieties are made from a base of organic apple cider vinegar. Each flavor, or varietal, is comprised of over 20 ingredients, including various fruit juices, herbs, spices, flowers, and vegetables. For someone trying to count calories, each serving of Jukes contains 25 calories, while a glass of red wine typically has around 125.
Jukes blends all the ingredients, which are first macerated, in custom-made stainless steel tanks to produce the wines. Although the tanks look slightly similar to brewing equipment, no fermentation takes place. Other non-alcoholic wines are more complicated to create; some are produced just like a standard wine, but the last step is removing the alcohol through vacuum installation or reverse osmosis.
Although I could tell that I wasn’t drinking wine (a good thing because I did the virtual tasting at 9 am) due to the pungency of the apple cider vinegar, it still felt like I was drinking wine. When I drink wine, I often want more of the fruity, smoky, citrusy, and oak-y flavors to shine through. With Jukes, my favorite part was how much of the distinct flavors of fruit and flowers shone through. If I were at a social function where everyone else was drinking, I wouldn’t feel left out if I was sipping on a glass of Jukes.
The alcohol-free beverage space has rapidly expanded and taken a more elevated form in the past few years. Until recent years, you might have been able to snag an O’Doul’s to drink with dinner or while at a bar, but alcohol-free wine was virtually nonexistent. The Spoon has yet to try other 0.0% wines, but a few other brands in this space include AcidLeague, SipCozy, Gruvi, and TÖST.
Jukes are available on the company’s website, and at a few alcohol-free retail stores. A box of nine bottles of Jukes costs $48.50 which is equivalent to three bottles of wine.
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