Party in your glass, fresh in your mind

Life's good times come with a drink and as far as we are concerned, that drink is wine, preferably with bubbles. These days, that doesn't necessarily mean it has to contain alcohol. For those who want to stay fresh, you can find more and more 0.0%.

When it comes to wine, there is a lot to choose from. Not only in terms of colour, but also how it is made. Natural wine and non-alcoholic wine are the relative newcomers and, especially in the latter category, consumer demand is on the rise. Therefore, more and more wineries are (also) making a 0.0 variant. Such as Maison Saint Aix, known in Provence in France for its AIX Rosé for many years. This is so good that there was great demand to expand the range. This was met and after two years of working behind the scenes, a white AIX and a non-alcoholic sparkling wine arrived. We discussed the white variant last edition, now it's about the BEAU VIVA, a 0.0% sparkling rosé. 

Tradition and innovation hand in hand

The arrival of the new AIX descendant is undoubtedly related to the arrival of winemaker Nicolas Quiles in the team. Indeed, he has extensive experience in producing sparkling wines. 'It is a completely different story to make a sparkling non-alcoholic wine,' he says. 'How bubbles get into wine is well known. But removing alcohol from wine, is a new discipline. There are also several methods for it, all with their advantages and disadvantages. We chose vacuum distillation, because this technique best preserves the aromas in the wine, while also preserving its texture.'

Party bubble without hangover

Since aromas are lost in the process of dealcoholisation, it is important to choose a grape that naturally has a lot of flavour. This is why Nicolas did not choose the usual suspects for sparkling wine, chardonnay and pinot noir, but for colombard. You may know this aromatic white grape from the wines coming from the Côtes de Gascogne at Southwest France. Nicolas: 'This grape gave us the perfect base. We also added some merlot to give the wine more colour, aroma and red fruit flavours.' This immediately explains AIX's distinctive colour: pale pink. 

We tasted BEAU VIVA at a sunny spring party at AIX in good company of vinologists and wine writers Angélique Chamboné and Janna Rijpma. The conclusion: 'The combination of colombard and merlot creates a wine with floral and fruity aromas. Think rose petals, crispy lemon and grapefruit. This combined with red fruits like strawberries, raspberry and rhubarb. Add to this the fine and lively mousse and you have a super party bubble, but without the accompanying hangover'. 

How do you make alcohol-free?