The second instalment of my dive into ‘zero alcohol’ versions of certain wines. I asked to taste them alongside their ‘regular alcohol’ expressions, to get a better taste analysis of what’s going on with the new ‘Zero’ labels. First I tried the King Valley Prosecco, which is a wine I know fairly well, next to the Zero version of that – see here – https://winefolio.co.nz/?p=10551. Now, that didn’t go well for the Zero alcohol version of the Prosecco, but I would qualify that by saying that I have NEVER yet found an alcohol-free wine that I could recommend, or happily drink.
The Moscato though – that could win me over! The Brown Brothers Moscato 2021 was reviewed here – https://winefolio.co.nz/?p=8186, with a respectable silver medal score of 89/100, and I also appreciated the simple refreshing nature that comes through in the Rosé 2021 version (88/100) and even the ‘Strawberries and Cream’ version that they make was “a pleasant summer lunch tipple”.
I’m not going to go into a long review of the 2022 – you can read the review of the ’21 and get the general idea… at 5.5% ABV it is a very light and bright style of wine. Zesty acidity and bags of juicy, sweet fruit flavours. It’s a likeable tipple. I shared these with a couple of people as a taste test, and the Moscato was well-liked. Moscato is the Italian name for Muscat Blanc – one of the oldest wine grapes in the world. This is part of the ‘fruity’ range of wines from Brown Brothers, Victoria, Australia.
The Moscato Zero is less than 0.5% ABV, and I didn’t think it suffered too much from having the alcohol removed. To me, alcohol delivers flavour, particularly through the body of the wine – middle palate, let’s say – and unlike the Prosecco Zero where “the body of the wine feels very thin and under-powered” – the Moscato seemed to suffer that less – perhaps due to the nature of the wine…having more depth and sweetness than a Prosecco does. The fragrance is ripe and floral, with lime, pear, green herbs, satsuma and jasmine notes. Is there a touch of confectionery candy-store sweetness to the palate – probably, but the acidity is fresh, and there’s still a little of that almond pastry richness to the finish. I quite liked it. 83pts
