Each month, our resident wine expert, Vicky Hampton, selects her pick of wines that befit the season at a range of price points. All featured wines are available here in the Netherlands from supermarkets, off-licence chains, local wine shops and online stores.

Even if you’re not planning to go alcohol-free for the whole of January, you might still be considering giving your liver a rest after all the excesses of the festive season. But when you’ve had a particularly long day at work, when you’re celebrating good news (or commiserating over bad), when you’re meeting friends to ring in the New Year – these are times that call for an adult drink. Something with body, not too sweet, perhaps a little sparkle, delicious on its own or with food. And if pouring yourself a glass of wine isn’t an option, you’re going to need some alternatives.

Admittedly, I’ve not tasted nearly as many alcohol-free wines as I have regular wines. That’s partly because most of the 0.0 wines I’ve tried taste thin and lacking in body, making me disinclined to go back for more. And I’m not alone: other wine writers I spoke to agreed that the mouthfeel that comes from alcohol is the hardest thing to replicate when a wine has been dealcoholized (i.e. once the wine has been fermented and then had the alcohol removed from it). That’s why sparkling alcohol-free wines tend to be more popular among those opting to go teetotal: the bubbles add body, filling the space left by the removal of alcohol.

But many fellow wine writers, sommeliers and wine experts also recommend other non-wine alternatives. Booze-free bottles based on tea or botanicals are a good bet, as are fruity and floral drinks. Crucially, however, some degree of fermentation (as is the case in kombucha) and sourness or bitterness (rather than the sweetness of many soft drinks) go a long way towards making an alcohol-free alternative taste like a grown-up drink.

Zero-alcohol wines

Of all the alcohol-free wines I tasted, the winner was Kylie Minogue’s sparkling rosé made from Spanish red grapes (available at Gall & Gall). While the flavours are perhaps a tad sweetly artificial, there are distinct peach and raspberry aromas, a lively mousse and a satisfying mouthfeel. I went back for more than one glass (which is saying something when it comes to booze-free wine!).

While doing my research, lots of wine experts recommended the sparkling Riesling by German producer Leitz (also available from Gall & Gall). The nose is certainly more wine-like than others on the market, with proper citrus, apple and a touch of brioche, but the flavour was still lacking (there’s something about dealcoholized wine that screams cat pee to me, and this was no exception). Still, probably worth a try as everyone’s palate is different.

At a certain point, I ran out of research budget so I’ve not personally tasted the other wines in this section – but they’ve been reliably recommended by wine professionals who know their stuff.

Several people tipped me off about Oddbird – a Swedish company selling premium booze-free beverages – with the sparkling rosé and blancs de blancs (sparkling Chardonnay) voted as the hot favourites. Various bottles from the Oddbird range are available via Alcoholvrijshop.nl although check your local wine shop too.

For alcohol-free Spanish Cava, try Hola! Barcelona organic brut made from traditional Cava grapes Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo, available at Albert Heijn. For non-sparkling wines, I’ve heard good things about the Rouge no. 2 by Kolonne Null, which (according to wine writer and podcaster Dave Baxter) is “what it would taste like if you could bottle Javier Bardem.” Kolonne Null is available from various places, including one of my favourite avondwinkels in Holland, Sterk Amsterdam, which is great for drinks in general.

Sparkling teas

Recognising that dealcoholizing wine is a complex and costly process, and cashing in on the popularity of tea-based kombucha, sparkling teas are the next serious contender in the zero-percent category.

I tried the Magnolia by Established Sparkling Tea, available via their own website or from De Bruijn in Wijnen. It tasted more tea-like than I expected – jasmine, verbena and green tea notes came through strongly, as did a dry, tannic mouthfeel. All of which makes this one of the most food-friendly options on this list; I expect it would pair well with sushi and Asian dishes in general.

Lots of food & drinks writers are also raving about Copenhagen Sparkling Tea, which features in many an alcohol-free pairing at Michelin-starred restaurants in Scandinavia, and is available in the Netherlands via Bovino and Hanos. Developed by Danish sommelier Jacob Kocemba, Blå is made from 13 jasmine, white and Darjeeling tea blends and, according to Guardian wine writer Sophia Longhi, “is delicately aromatic and clean-tasting, with a fine tannic structure, helping it to pair with a multitude of foods, from cheese to salmon.”

Other alternatives

Fruits, flowers and botanicals also make a good base for grown-up drinks that happen to skip the alcohol. The Holunder Secco made by German producer Gustavshof is a biodynamic bubbles-alternative made from elderflower that’s available via Bilderdijk Wijnhuys in Amsterdam or online at Well of Wine. It’s a little sweeter than I expected, but features delicate floral aromatics and a lively fine mousse – both of which would make it an excellent aperitif.

An Amsterdam-based sommelier also recommended PriSecco Cuvée Nr 23, made by Jörg Geiger (the Germans are clearly ahead of the game when it comes to alcohol-free alternatives). It’s essentially a sparkling juice made with rhubarb, which offers the acidity and texture you’d expect from wine but without the alcohol.

And if all else fails, there’s always my trusty friend Crodino (available from the supermarket, liquor store, night shop and everywhere else). It tastes disarmingly like Aperol, which means it makes a convincing 0.0 spritz when mixed with a dash of sparkling water or tonic.

For more of Vicky’s wine recommendations and grape explorations, subscribe to The Wine Edit on Substack, follow @TrufflesandTannins on Instagram or book a tasting!