O Canada, where are the alcohol-free wines?

Though still relatively young compared to Europe, Canada’s wine industry has made a name for itself on the global stage for its cool-climate wines. In fact, according to a study carried out by Wine Growers of Canada, the economic impact that the Canadian wine industry made between 2011 and 2015 went up by 33 per cent, that is, from $6.8 billion to $9 billion over the course of four years. Canadian wine is thriving — over four provinces, there are more than 600 wineries, and 30,000 acres of vineyards. 

You would think that with plenty of rich soil available, abundant and expansive land (there are wine-growing regions in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia), and an eager consumer base, at least a few wineries would be following in the footsteps of German riesling specialist Leitz, which produces an alcohol-free series of wines called Eins-Zwei-Zero, to craft alcohol-free versions of their famed wines. After all, according to a recent survey conducted by market researching firm Fact.MR, a growing appetite for non-alcoholic wines is rapidly and greatly fuelling non-alcoholic wine sales, which are expected to reach U.S. $1.6 billion this year; by 2031, sales of non-alcoholic wines will grow at a 10.4 per cent compound annual growth rate, specifically the sale of sparkling wines.   

But despite all these points in favour of alcohol-free wine production, you’d be hard-pressed (no pun intended) to find a Canadian winery producing its own line of alcohol-free wines. This means that Canadians who are rethinking drinking, those who are sober-curious, or just sober, are without local alternatives to their favourite Canadian wines, and have to turn to the imported wines that alcohol-free marketplaces have to offer. 

Sarah Kate is Some Good Clean Fun’s Founder and Managing Editor, she is also an alcohol-free sommelier. “What [Canadian wineries] should be taking away is that this [growth in popularity of alcohol-free wines] isn’t just a trend because of the pandemic, this is a trend that is going to stay,” Kate says. 

Henry of Pelham winery

Indeed, according to Fact.MR, the reason why many are opting to go for alcohol-free wine is alcohol-related heart disease: more and more people are getting heart disease because of their drinking habits, and so many, to reduce their risk of getting the disease, are reaching for alcohol-free wines. “The demand for sparkling non-alcoholic wine will accelerate during the forecast period,” the above-linked press release reads.

Well-known wineries such as Malivoire, Flat Rock Cellars, and Henry of Pelham don’t have a line of non-alcoholic wines available as of now. Malivoire’s Sales and Creative Coordinator Stacy Rose told Some Good Clean Fun over email that the winery hasn’t discussed a non-alcoholic option in its plans for the future.

President of Flat Rock Cellars Ed Madronich says that while he is aware of the trend toward no- and low-alcohol wines, the Ontario-based winery does not have plans at the moment to produce one. “It is actually very hard to do and even harder to make it taste great,” Madronich says. “So for us, the compromise in quality would be far too great.” 

Tobias Fiebrandt is the Assistant Winemaker at Vineland Estates and also the Export Manager for Leitz at Vineland. Fiebrandt says that Vineland has been importing alcohol-free wines since last year, and that he can attest to alcohol-free wines’ popularity. 

“We are seeing a very high demand for these wines,” Fiebrandt says. “After seeing explosive growth in Quebec, Leitz has spent the last year developing new partnerships across the country to serve Canadians in other provinces as well.” While Vineland works Soberlicious and Sans Drinks to make Leitz alcohol-free wines available to Ontarians, Softcrush will work to make them available in Western Canada, Fiebrandt says.

Currently, Vineland is bringing in enough products to last them the next six months, he adds, saying that the winery is playing the long-term game because Fiebrandt understands the tremendous consumer interest, which doesn’t show signs of ebbing. 

“Vineland brought the wine in as a little experiment about a year ago,” Fiebrandt says. “Our next order will be a full container load. This is a dramatic escalation in volume, which illustrates how significant the demand is. We are hoping to have the new shipment in hand by the end of November and are hoping to really kickstart the category and go strong into the holidays and Dry January.”

“The wines are selling so much faster than we anticipated,” Fiebrandt adds.

Dan Speck is the Senior Vice President of Sales at Henry of Pelham, a winery located in St. Catharines, Ont. Speck says that though the winery doesn’t produce a non-alcoholic wine and isn’t currently looking into producing them, they do sell alcohol-free brands in their retail store at the winery, these are meant for people who visit and want an alcohol-free option when picnicking at the estate.  

“The main reason [we are not looking into producing non-alcoholic wines] is that the technology to make high-quality non-alc wines is still in its infancy,” Speck says. “Some are decent but none are at the level where we would pursue them from a terroir-driven approach as we do with our other wines.” Speck does leave the possibility up in the air, however, saying that maybe one day Henry of Pelham might produce alcohol-free wines. 

“One grape variety that we specialize in that can be made in a naturally lower alcohol style is riesling, and our Henry of Pelham Riesling is made in such a style,” Speck adds. “This isn’t zero alcohol by any means, but by picking earlier when there are less sugars (therefore less potential alcohol), we get a less boozy and certainly more tropically fresh wine that is a house favourite for us. I recommend it for people who want that lighter touch of alcohol and for people new to wine especially.”

Fiebrandt expands upon Speck’s and Madronich’s sentiment. “Production costs are quite high and (if I had to guess) winemakers are still sceptical and would think twice before dealcoholizing a product that’s hard to grow to begin with,” Fiebrandt says. 

vineland estates winery

According to a New York Times article from March of this year that featured the Leitz winery, dealcoholizing wine, especially according to the “vacuum distillation” process that Leitz uses, is a very involved process. 

According to the process, a wine, with alcohol intact, is separated into its various parts so that the alcohol can be easily removed. The remaining components of the wine are then put back together. The article notes that alcohol from wine can be evaporated by heating the wine to high temperatures, but this compromises the integrity of the resultant wine, producing a beverage of very poor quality. This is what Madronich means when he says that it’s difficult to make alcohol-free wine. 

Kate appreciates the innovativeness of Leitz when it comes to making good alcohol-free wines. “What was once considered unpalatable, [when it comes to non-alcoholic wine], has now become a world of innovation as people are pushing the boundaries,” she says. 

But she still finds it strange that Canada isn’t catching up to what the wineries elsewhere are doing. “Other countries are innovating first when Canada has a very robust and healthy viticulture industry,” Kate says. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be innovating in this area as well.” 

“[Vineland] has hit the nail on the head that the demand is exponentially growing in Canada, and importing from other countries is fine if there are no resources in Canada,” Kate says. “However, we have the resources. I think wineries and wine brands should look at what Vineland Estates is doing and say, ‘Why would we pay to import something when we can make great quality ourselves?’” 

“Sure, [the ability to make alcohol-free wine] is in its infancy, but it can be done,” Kate says, referring to the fact that the Europeans are already doing it. “Small businesses and entrepreneurs in Europe and overseas are making strides in this area, and there is soon going to be a major shift and I think that wineries who aren’t thinking about this now may be playing catch-up later.” 

“I think it’s going to become status quo that Canadians are seeking good-quality alcohol-free wine, and companies like Vineland Estates are getting ahead of the game by importing, but that can’t be the solution,” Kate says.