Non-alcoholic fizz, redux

[wildeabandon]

Readers may remember that a year or so ago I tasted all of the different non-alcoholic fizzy wines I could find in search of a suitable celebratory drink. There were two I liked, Differente Cuvee, which was the better of the two, but actually more expensive than our house Champagne, and Win Sparkling, which was nearly as good, and only six quid a bottle.

Sadly, since then, they appear to have changed the recipe of Win and made it sweeter, and although it's still one of the better options, it's not as good as it was. On the other hand, I have recently found two alternatives. Ocado have started stocking something called Bee's Knees, which is a mixture of dealcoholised wine and green tea extract. Obviously it doesn't taste exactly like wine, but the tea flavour isn't terribly obtrusive, and it does a good job of taking out some of the sweetness. And tonight, on my way home, I was picking a couple of other things up from Sainsbury's, and grabbed a bottle of their Taste the Difference Blanc de Blanc which I'm drinking now. I am seriously impressed. Actually dry enough, rather than "less sweet than the others, but still too sweet", but none of the nasty chemically after taste that the other dry ones I've tried. And just to add a bit of icing to the cake, either of these will set you back a mere £3.50 a bottle.

Comments

[mr_magicfingers]

That's really interesting to hear about. We bought some Win and Differente at Christmas for Ems. The Win was good but the Differente was a big disappointment to her, really didn't like it and I had to agree. Will definitely be trying these other two you've recommended, thanks for doing the legwork :)

[mr_magicfingers]

ah, just noticed that the latter one is 0.5% and she will only drink zero alcohol ones.

[wildeabandon]

Ah, that's a shame - especially as I suspect it's the tiny smidge of ABV that allows it to taste so convincing. The super-low alcohol ones are good for drivers and people like me, but I imagine must be frustrating if you really need 0%.

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the Differente, de gustibus non disputandum and all that. I'll keep you updated with my thoughts on any new ones I try.

[mr_magicfingers]

Thanks, there would be quite a few more to try if she was happy with low alcohol but really doesn't want to. Always good to hear your views on them and we really owe you a thanks for putting us on to Seedlip, she loves the garden one and we always have it in the house.