Though Niche, Low- and No-Alcohol Wine Sector Offers Opportunity

2024 had industry challenges, but Non Alc was a bright star

By Pam Strayer for Grape & Wine Magazine

Case Study: Winemaker Alisa Jacobson’s First Foray into No-Alcohol Wine
One of the two co-chairs leading the program development for the Unified Symposium, Turning Tides winemaker Alisa Jacobson, who was formerly vice president of winemaking at Joel Gott Wines, just released her first no-alcohol wine. In a post-conference Q&A with Grape & Wine Magazine, she shared her first experiences in the no-alcohol world

Q. How did you prepare to make your first no-alcohol wine?
I did a lot of upfront blending and mouth feel enhancement. I use vacuum distillation. But what happens is when you concentrate certain flavors, you also really strip out the mouth feel.

That’s one thing Jim Harbertson was trying to get across with his presentation: We like the flavor of alcohol. It really lifts aromatics. And so in order for us to kind of recreate it, I went really heavy up front on the aromatics.

I used a blend with 5% Viognier to try to have this kind of over-the-top aromatic wine, so when we de-alkalized it, and the aromatics aren’t as present, that there is still a lot of a base to start with.

Q. So, what’s the difference between having something leftover that you want to use vs being intentional and planning?
I think that’s what’s been sort of missing is that the people have been using [no-alcohol] kind of as a side note, like, “Oh, we have a little extra, let’s make nonalcoholic out of it.”

Turning Tides winemaker Alisa Jacobson just released her first no-alcohol wine, Bait + Switch. Wines and fruit juices with similar flavor profiles, like Sauvignon Blanc and grapefruit, can be paired to “accent or improve the flavor profile” in no-alcohol wines, according to Washington State University’s Jim Harbertson.

Starting very intentionally was the other thing we were trying to get across with Jim’s research. There’s a lot of things to be thinking about. It shouldn’t be an afterthought; it should be something that you plan up front.

I think you’re going to start with a softer, sweeter mouthfeel, not sweet sugar, but just like really good flavor profiles, good aromatics. So, sort of big, voluptuous. A Sauvignon Blanc blend is what I started with, with extra lees stirring. You get some of that viscosity from the lees, so you can really start out with a big, voluptuous wine that you’re going to have to take the alcohol out, which kind of dumbs down the aromatics.

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