This week we’re going low-alcohol with Edenvale Sparkling Cuvée NV.

Tasting notes: Crisp, zippy, with small bubbles and lightly tropical fruit

Spotler Wine-ometer:

We all know someone who’s taking part in Dry January; spending a month recovering from the indulgence of December. In the marketing world, this is what we mean when we talk about personas.

Within your social circle, it’s probably quite easy to predict who will do Dry January in any given year. The people who like to set themselves short-term health goals, or those who regularly pick up on “[x] Month” trends. The other side of this is that you should renew your personas on a regular basis. Your cousin who’s a regular wine-drinker but taking part in Dry January won’t appreciate that nice Malbec from our last blog if you give it to her on January 15th, but will welcome it in March.

Watch our webinar on personas and content and start talking more personally to your audiences

The other, more tenuous connection revolves around adapting your product to reach a specific audience segment. Creating a non-alcoholic wine and focusing on its fresh, fruit-laden flavour allows wine producers to tap into a variety of new markets (see Tim’s analysis below for more on this). This is a more effective approach than simply selling fruit squash as an alternative, because it allows Laithwaites to take advantage of their established position as wine experts.

The Expert Explains:

So it’s January and the alcohol-free adverts are everywhere; sales are rocketing year on year and there are plenty of winemakers putting in an awful lot of effort and investment into making these beauties.

So who’s buying them?

Pregnant Mums, Designated Drivers, Patients on Medication, The Dry Januarists and Worshippers whose faith doesn’t allow them to drink alcohol. Many view it simply as a tasty alternative to lime and soda, orange juice or the local tap water.

Oh, a

nd just like cola v diet cola,  there’s a growing band of drinkers who prefer the taste over the full strength alternative.

It’s

interesting how non-alcoholic fizz is now a regular addition to the wedding winelist so the whole crowd can celebrate the happy couple.

How do they make it?

First, they make wine the normal way, then the alcohol is removed using a number of gentle processes ( maybe heating, spinning or separation). So it’s more complicated with more equipment.

Is it going to taste like my usual wine?

Probably not, but the good ones will have plenty of taste – so you need an open mind.  Alcohol is a key component to producing a balanced wine. If it’s not there then the winemaker rebalances the sugar, acidity and flavours to give a wonderful mouthfeel. But beware, there are some shockers out there.

What are the rules?

The ABV ( Alcohol by Volume) of most wine ranges from 8 – 16 % and low alcohol wines range from 0.05 – 1.2 %.

There’s also a whole bunch of lower alcohol wines from 4 % – 8 % these tend to be sweeter as the winemaker stops the fermentation before all the sugar has been turned into alcohol.

If it’s 0 % then it’s probably unfermented grape juice!

Up for it?

If you’re tempted then here’s an Aussie Sparkler that’s top drawer, Edenvale Sparkling Cuvee NV. Plenty of fizz with ripe apple and tropical flavours and the alcohol gently removed down to 0.5 ABV – 3 bottles delivered to a UK address for £ 18.49 –  ( £ 3 saving on the RRP of £ 14.97 and £ 7.99 delivery).

Get in touch with Tim Collis at Laithwaites Surbiton, and let him know that we sent you!