A Sunny Summer Wine: Giesen 0% Non-Alcoholic Pinot Grigio Review
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The pinot grigio varietal is a very hard grape to dealcoholize and get right. As a category, the wine this grape produces is light and crisp and bone dry. It’s generally a summer wine or a wine that people who “don’t really like wine” gravitate to because it’s easily palatable. There are a lot of incredible pinot grigio wines produced in Italy and pinot gris in other parts of the world. Trying to dealcoholize a wine that is already light-bodied and fragrant is almost impossible. Giesen winery in New Zealand is well-known for it’s great non-alcoholic sauvignon blanc, and have also produced an alcohol-free pinot grigio as part of their line-up.
Pinot grigio in New Zealand
Pinot grigio is not native to New Zealand, and was only introduced there in recent decades. Interestingly, early releases of pinot grigio from New Zealand were critiqued as being too simple compared to traditional counterparts from Italy despite the perfect climate for this grape. Many winemakers in New Zealand oak-age their pinot grigio, which is very uncommon for this varietal, but it adds notes of vanilla and a creamier texture to the lighter wine. The Giesen Dealcoholized Pinot Grigio has not been oak-barreled.
Review: Giesen 0% Non-Alcoholic Pinot Grigio
For a wine that is hard to dealcoholize, Giesen has done a decent job of maintaining a ‘wine’ quality to the liquid despite some of its shortcomings. It’s an anomaly in the field, as it’s obvious there’s been a very thoughtful approach to dealcoholizing the wine and maintaining an elevated liquid, but it’s no-one’s fault that it’s a hard to retain the elusive pinot grigio flavours and dryness.
Aroma
On the nose, it has soft notes of lychee, pear and apple. No chemical aroma which is always a plus.
Taste
On the palette, it’s a very light, semi-sweet wine. There are notes of green apple, lemon and a hint of pear. It’s lacking the dryness that a traditional pinot grigio would have - again, a really hard thing to replicate in a dealcoholized white. Almost a little too sweet. No length which is always disappointing.
Mouthfeel
It’s crisp, clean and bright, just like a Pinot Grigio, but without the alcohol it’s lacking an intensity of flavour and heft when its chilled. Drinking it a slightly warmer temperature brings out some creamier notes that were missing right out of the fridge, but it’s still quite thin.
Overall
Overall the Giesen Dealcoholized Sauvignon Blanc is lacking personality or character, and drinks more like a middle-of-the-road table wine. It’s not unpalatable, in fact, it’s quite delicious in some ways, and eons better than the bargain-basement options like VinZero or Fre. What makes this a ‘meh’ is the lack of complexity and the fact that you’re left wanting more from it.
*I added Bark & Bitter Sparkling Solution to the wine and it added some incredible depth to it. This is the new hack for non-alcoholic whites!
Other non-alcoholic pinot grigio options
Edenvale from Australia makes a pinot gris, and it’s slightly better as it has more body and flavour complexity. If you’re really craving a non-alcoholic pinot grigio, that’s the one to try. Read our review here.
How we score wines at Some Good Clean Fun:
95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers
90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.
85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.
80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.
