Whatever You Call It, Non-Alcoholic Is Here To Stay...

N/A, Dealcoholised, Alcohol Free, <0.5% ABV… There are many labels for the Low/No drinks industry.  But as this sector of the business becomes more mainstream we predict a uniformity of understanding across the global as more countries embrace consumers' changing attitude towards balancing their alcohol intake.

The world of non-alcoholic beverages has grown substantially in recent years, and we see more and more terms popping up, which to some drinkers can certainly be confusing.

Whether you're searching for non-alcoholic, alcohol-free, dealcoholised or even liberated from alcohol, the message is broadly the same - these drinks offer you a chance to cut down our alcohol whilst enjoying beer, wine and spirits.

The laws around identifying what is low and what is no alcohol drinks is currently under review in the UK.  Internationally, it's generally recognised that anything containing less than 0.5% alcohol is essentially alcohol-free, though certain government make particular demands on producers.  

For example, wine that is below 0.5% in the US is classed as dealcoholised first and foremost but can also be secondarily called alcohol-free. 

The European Union on the other hand doesn't allow low or no alcohol wine to be actually called wine - and yet in the UK, the government has agreed that Noughty and other non-alcoholic wines can be identified as wine - after all, we originate as wine that is then dealcoholised.

It's important to note that there are also bottles in the No/Low space that are not wine, but a concoction of grape must and other ingredients such as fruit, chemicals and sugars.  We are obsessed with transparency and letting our customers know exactly what's in and more importantly what is NOT in our wine.  After all, we all want to know what's in our food - why not our drink?

These are not wines but essentially wine alternatives.  So anyone interested should check the labels for what's going into these non-alcoholic offerings.

Many alcohol-free drinks sold in the UK are less than 0.05% ABV. This is because there is government guidance suggesting how producers should use the term ‘alcohol-free’, to help consumers make an informed choice.

However, labelling and licensing laws have created inconsistencies which was lead to beverage containing >0.5% ABV may be labelled as either "non-alcoholic" or "alcohol-free." .

In contrast, the United States considers 0.5% ABV as a "trace amount of alcohol" according to the FDA, which means they can be labelled alcohol free or non alcoholic.

>0.5% ABV is classified as dealcoholised, which you will see on our Noughty still wines. 

Our sparkling wines, which we label as alcohol-free, are 0.0% ABV.

This distinction is important to us as you may have noticed that our sparkling wines are halal certified for this reason.

Here at Noughty, our preferred method to craft a sublime dealcoholised wine is by first fermenting and ageing our wine before removing the alcohol. 

A common misconception is that there is a chance you will get drunk from dealcoholised wines, however you can find more alcohol in a ripe banana or burger bun (1.2% ABV), even Ketchup has 0.67% ABV.  These trace amounts of alcohol in high-quality alcohol-free drinks are used to retain some of the original flavours.

Ultimately, the good news is that, here at Noughty, we want to help you make an informed decision, and wherever you require dealcoholised or alcohol-free wines, we have you covered.