Review: Noughty Rouge Non Alcoholic Red Wine
/A bodacious non-alcoholic red wine that everyone loves to drink
Noughty non alcoholic wines burst onto the scene in 2020 and have been on bestseller lists ever since. Founder Amanda Thomson and team have brought the brand’s Sparkling Organic Chardonnay and Sparkling Rose to airlines, hotels and special events around the globe and have received accolades everywhere one of their corks are popped.
The release of Noughty Rouge was their first foray into non alcoholic still wine, and according to Amanda Thomson the idea was in her plans for quite some time.
“The idea for the red came about once I started getting some traction with the sparkling, so pretty early,” said Thomson, who launched an Organic Sparkling Chardonnay as her first product in 2019 - well before the non alcoholic market had started its explosive growth.
It was worth the wait, as the New York Times wine critic Florence Fabricant recently suggested this wine was “a non alcoholic red wine worth bringing to the party”, and the internet has been abuzz ever since.
Where is Noughty Rouge non-alcoholic red produced?
This beautiful bottle of non alcoholic red wine is 100% Syrah grapes, developed in South Africa where the hot and dry climate grows some of the world’s tastiest Syrah grapes. They boast plenty of fruit forward notes with a ‘voluptuous’ full body (according to Vivino.com) and a healthy amount of tannins. It is also home to the winemaker that Thomson wanted to partner with to develop a premium quality non alcoholic red. Using spinning cone technology, which is an advanced vacuum distillation method, the finished wine has the alcohol gently removed resulting in a fantastic, drinkable alcohol-free red wine.
Aroma
The nose on Noughty is completely bodacious for a non alcoholic wine, when it’s at room temperature. It’s got a big, juicy aroma and smells identical to a South African Syrah with some soft spicy notes, cherry and fresh grapes.
Taste
The hard work and expertise that went into making this non alcoholic wine is evident on the palette. The dealcoholization process often removes much of the mouthfeel, flavours, tannins and complexity in a full-bodied wine, so when these things exist in balance it’s something to celebrate.
Noughty drinks almost like a Pinot, so although it won’t be a big bodied Syrah it’s par for the course with dealcoholization. The expression of Syrah definitely shows through in the gentle notes of leather and raisin mixed with perfectly ripe berries.
The structure is what makes this wine such an upgrade from many other non alcoholic red wines, as Noughty does an excellent job of retaining those elusive tannins. The three components of wine structure are tannins, fruit and alcohol, but in non alcoholic wine you are often left with just the fruit and no tannic backbone. The Rouge delivers soft tannins that are nicely balanced with the fruit.
Mouthfeel and Experience
Where some non alcoholic wines are thin and feel like they’ve been stripped of substance, the mouthfeel on Noughty Rouge is perfectly balanced and is really enjoyable to experience. You won’t be turned off by the feeling of drinking ‘juice’.
Note: Fabricant, from the New York Times, suggested chiling Noughty Rouge slightly before drinking so our first tasting was at room temperature followed by a second an hour later after it had chilled.
What to pair with Noughty Rouge
Our final thoughts on Noughty Rouge are that this non alcoholic wine drinks like a regular wine in almost every aspect. It’s thoroughly enjoyable and will pair nicely with grilled burgers, brick oven traditional pizza, bbq chicken and other meats cooked with dry heat. It’s lighter style also means you can’t go wrong pairing this with a fresh tomato basil salad and other lighter fare.
This bottle is an all around easy drinking non alcoholic wine and will definitely be a crowd pleaser for both drinkers and non-drinkers alike.
It’s available through most non-alcoholic wine retailers online such as The Zero Proof, Amazon.com, Sechey, and more. It’s also usually on the shelf at most bottle shops across the U.S. and Canada. For a map of bottle shops near you, check out the Zero Proof Map.
How we score wines at Some Good Clean Fun:
95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers
90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.
85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.
80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.
Overall: Noughty Rouge non-alcoholic red is peppery and juicy and a really fun wine to drink. It has considerable complexity and has real characteristics of a South African Syrah.
Score: 92 points
