Alcohol-free wine: Acid League Proxies

What is it about a wine glass that exudes sophistication and sexiness? It’s that exact reason you can put practically anything into a wine glass and it elevates the experience, no matter what you’re drinking. 

I used to be somewhat of a wine connoisseur. I read about wine, purchased a lot of bottles to lay down for storage, avidly read Vintages magazine, took courses and held my own blind wine tastings with friends. So when I decided to rethink drinking and give up wine, it was difficult to part ways with the vast amount of knowledge I had curated. 

The exploration of my own palette benefited me greatly in creating a baseline of what’s good and what’s not. Thus, when I first opened a bottle of Acid League Proxy I knew the fledgling ‘not wine’ brand would be an industry star. 

This merits a brief detour into the alcohol-free wine industry. Generally, the generic nonalcoholic flat wine you see in the grocery store has had the alcohol removed from very very low quality grapes through a gentle heating process. Whatever tannins and structure the original wine had, if any, are cooked away leaving a grape juice with a slightly off-putting aroma and flavour. There is a movement happening now across the globe, by wineries big and small, to start innovating around the production of flat wine without alcohol. It’s a difficult process. Sparkling wine has started to emerge as the star in this area, with the injection of bubbles adding character back into the wine after the fact.

That’s where Acid League differs and the reason why it’s a fan-favourite brand of alcohol free wine - because it’s actually not a wine at all. It’s a proxy. 

Acid League has created a beautiful line of ‘varietals’ that imbue what you need from wine but without the fermentation process. The Proxies are built with grapes, but are not wine. They create and build structure, body, tightness and acidity through ingredients that help mimic a great wine, rather than try and remove alcohol from a pre-existing product. This positions Acid League miles ahead of everyone else in the industry when it comes to innovating in alcohol-free wines. 

The Proxy in the photo to the left is called Tripping in Alsace, a region in the east of France known for beautifully bright and complex white wines. It borders the Rhine region of Germany, which means the Alsace grows and produces excellent Gewurztraminer as well. The Acid League varietal here uses this grape as its base with lychee and pineapple, mixed with peppercorn, tea, hops, galangal, clove and vinegar. It’s unlike anything I have ever drank before, with a juicy mouthfeel and elegant finish. I paired this bottle with a Passover dinner of roast chicken, potatoes and a fresh salad and it was an excellent choice. Elevated enough for a dinner party, perfect to drink on your own under a sunny sky. 

I encourage anyone looking for an elegant option for your table, on any occasion or day of the week, to swap out an Acid League Proxy for your regular bottle of wine and you won’t regret it. You’ll have to order ahead as it’s not readily available in stores right now, but it’s worth the planning. 

$80/month, acidleague.com