My honest review after trying 40+ bottles of non-alcoholic wines.Prefer to listen rather than read? Check out my podcast episode on this topic (coming soon...)! Surprise! In case you missed the announcement, I’m pregnant with my first baby. And ever since I shared that I’m not drinking right now, everyone, and I mean everyone, has asked me the same question: “Do you have any good non-alcoholic wine recommendations?” As a wine educator and lifelong wine lover, I knew this question was coming. Honestly? I also wanted to know the answer for myself. Could I still enjoy a glass (or three) of something delicious while pregnant…without missing the wine experience? So I set out on a mission: Find truly good non-alcoholic wine. This post shares everything I discovered: what’s changed in the NA wine world, how alcohol-removed wine is made, whether it’s worth the price, safety notes for pregnancy, and of course…the six non-alcoholic wines I’d actually recommend. Let’s dive in! My History With Non-Alcoholic Wine (and Why I Was Skeptical) About three years ago, back when NA wine was just starting to gain popularity," I got curious and decided to try a bunch. I tasted 11 bottles, wrote a blog post, recorded a podcast episode, and honestly...I was not impressed. The only drinkable options were bubbly. Everything else tasted like stale vinegar mixed with grape juice. Hard pass. Fast-forward to this pregnancy and I’ve now tried over 40 non-alcoholic wines. My honest take? Non-alcoholic wine does NOT taste like wine. But (big but!)… There ARE plenty of non-alcoholic wines that taste good. Especially when you stop expecting them to taste exactly like your favorite Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet. So before I share my go-to non-alcoholic bottles, let’s quickly break down the basics so you know what you’re actually buying. Alcohol-Removed Wine vs Wine Alternatives Not all “non-alcoholic wines” are the same. In fact, there are two very different categories: 1. Alcohol-Removed Wine Alcohol removed wine is exactly what it sounds like: first wine is made regularly. Then it goes through the process of having the alcohol removed. FYI: There is yet to be a way to remove ALL alcohol from a wine, so alcohol-removed wines will generally have <0.5% alcohol remaining in them. (which is similar to a cup of orange juice believe it or not!) 2. Wine Alternatives A wine alternative never contained alcohol in the first place. It’s a drink made to taste like wine but never started as wine. Both can be good! They're just different experiences. How Non-Alcoholic Wine Is Made (Specifically alcohol-removed wine) There are basically two steps to making alcohol-removed wine. Step one: make wine normally. Step two: somehow take the alcohol out without destroying all that beautiful flavor. There are three main methods for removing alcohol: 1. Vacuum Distillation This older method gently heats the wine to around 95°F, which is just warm enough for the alcohol to evaporate without fully cooking the wine. It was actually the very first technique for dealcoholizing wine, invented in the early 1900s. While effective, the heat can dull some of the wine’s natural aromas and flavors. 2. Reverse Osmosis Reverse osmosis filters the wine into separate parts, almost like temporarily taking it apart, so the delicate aromas and flavors can be set aside. The remaining liquid is gently heated to remove the alcohol, and then everything is carefully blended back together. It generally creates a cleaner, more balanced NA wine compared to older methods where you just heat the wine up. 3. Spinning Cone Columns (The fancy one) In this modern, high-tech approach, wine flows vertically through a series of spinning cones that separate out different components (including the alcohol) using a spinning motion rather than heat. This helps preserve far more complexity, freshness, and aroma. The alcohol then remains separate while all the other components are integrated back together. The spinning cone method is the method most newer NA wine brands use today since it delivers the highest quality results. NA Wine + Added Botanicals (and a Note for Pregnancy) Because removing alcohol also removes flavor and texture, many NA producers experiment with:
This can boost complexity…but if you’re pregnant, pay attention: ⚠️ Some botanicals, especially adaptogens, aren’t recommended during pregnancy. This is because some of these ingredients haven’t been tested on pregnant people. So always read the ingredient label and chat with your doctor if you’re unsure. I found this very frustrating when tasting through everything, because so many “wellness” NA brands lean heavily on adaptogens. Why NA Wine Isn’t as Good as NA Beer or NA Cider (in my opinion) 1. Alcohol does more than just get you drunk. Alcohol provides body (aka texture) to the wine that is incredibly difficult to mimic with anything else. This is honestly why I think NA Beer does a better job than NA Wine. Beer usually contains less than 6% alcohol. Wine typically contains more than 11%. Alcohol makes up less of the beer so you notice its absence less. 2. The US wine industry is dragging its feet. There are concerns across the wine industry that NA wine could cut into traditional wine sales. I had a really fascinating conversation with Heather from Craft & Cluster in a podcast interview that will be coming out April 2026. We both agreed that introducing non-alcoholic wine options along with traditional wine would actually be really beneficial to wineries. Heather also pointed out how Germany has gone all-in on NA wine research, and it shows. Their NA wines are far ahead of the U.S.  The 6 Non-Alcoholic Wines I’d Actually Recommend And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Here are the non-alcoholic bottles that made my “yes, I’d drink this again” list. 1. Dr. Lo Riesling - Germany (~$25)
2. Sea Monster “Tidal Wave” White - California (~$16)
3. Joyus Sparkling Wine - Seattle, WA (~$29)
4. Domaine EdeM N.0 Sparkling Rosé - Spain (~$25)
5. Heinz Wagner Black Forest NA Bubbles - Germany (~$38)
6. Woody’s Sparkling Rosé - California (~$25)
Where to Buy Non-Alcoholic Wine If you're local to the Seattle area, I'd recommend visiting Cheeky & Dry, Seattle's first and only dedicated non-alcoholic bottle shop. I found four of the six wines on my list above at Cheeky & Dry. Plus they're incredibly knowledgable and friendly.
If you don't have a local shop near you with non-alcoholic options, check out The Zero Proof Online Shop (not-sponsored, just a great resource!)
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