Gruvi Dry Red Blend Non-Alcoholic Wine Review

Gruvi Dry Red Blend, $20/4 x 250ml cans, 90 points

You’ve probably seen Gruvi around everywhere, and maybe you’ve tried their sparkling Secco or their beers, because this fun non-alcoholic brand is one of the original innovators in the non-alcoholic drinks category. They’re only four years old, but they’re expanding rapidly and you can find their cans in almost every state and province in North America.

Technically Gruvi is a U.S. company, but the founders are from Canada (and we’re patriotic so we’ll take it!). The Sawni family launched Gruvi together and are all still working on the business from various locales in the U.S.

The young brand is continuing to roll out innovation with their canned non-alcoholic red wine, which is low in sugar and big on flavour. Here’s our take on the new Gruvi Dry Red Blend.

What we think about Gruvi Dry Red Blend

What we liked

The Gruvi dry red blend is juicy and truly has a complexity in flavour similar to red wine. Although it’s on the sweeter side, which some like and some don’t, it’s still fairly low in sugar which is a bonus if you’re watching your added-sugar intake.

What we didn’t like

There are lots of people out there who love Yellow Tail Shiraz, I was not one of them. This non-alcoholic wine had some similar notes to the bargain-bin aussie brand, but overall still nicer than a full-octane wine. The cans don’t make it very sexy or romantic, and definitely add a slight tinniness to the liquid, but accessibility and portability has to win out on this point.

What is Gruvi Dry Red Blend?

The Dry Red Blend is a non-alcoholic red wine from Gruvi, which comes in single-serve cans rather than a bottle. The small Denver company makes half a dozen beer styles, two sparkling wines that come in single-serve glass bottles and now the Dry Red Blend. They have a seasonal sangria as well. The red blend is made in Colorado alongside their Golden non-alcoholic ale.

What sets it apart?

Gruvi’s non-alcoholic red wine is not completely new, as technically they released the first batch in 2022. What most people don’t know about Gruvi is that they welcome, and ask for, community feedback on their products. The small Denver company has a robust customer feedback system in place they use to essentially crowd-source their formulations. If you’ve ever looked closely at a can, it has the batch number on it. I’m sipping on a #9 right now - if that means anything to anyone!

This new, improved blend was recently launched across North America, and has been in circulation for a few months. Its a remarkable upgrade from the previous few versions, as the soft tannins are now more noticeable and the spicy notes are more prominent.

Tasting Notes

Appearance

Gruvi Dry Red Blend is a rich, dark chocolatey red wine that pours as dark as a shiraz or a cabernet sauvignon. In a category where most reds are only slightly opaque, it’s nice to see a dark cherry red colour in an n/a wine.

Aroma

On the nose, the Gruvi dry red blend is

Flavour

The palette is super juicy with prominent notes of black currents and ripe cherries balanced out with the typical shiraz spicey notes of menthol and eucalyptus. It’s a really great blend that may be overly sweet for some, but for anyone who loves a rich, full-bodied red wine, this definitely brings the flavour and some mild tannins to boot.

Amount of sugar in Gruvi Dry Red Blend

The great thing about this non-alcoholic red wine is that it’s low(er) in sugar than some other red blends. It comes in at 8g of sugar per 250ml can. There is a lot of concern about ‘added sugar’ in non-alcoholic drinks, but overall, this is not an unhealthy amount compared to non-alcoholic wines of old which sometimes have over 20g per glass in them.

Gruvi Dry Red Blend vs comparable options

Sometimes non-alcoholic wine is too thin, or too juicy or too sugary. In comparison to other non-alcoholic red blends, Gruvi is in the middle of the pack. It’s not the best non-alcoholic red out there, but it’s very high on the list of great tasting and enjoyable options. Its portability and accessibility wins out over every other brand though. No-one can come close to the number of shelves Gruvi is on, and its ease of use in single-serve cans.

Where can I buy Gruvi Dry Red Blend?

This bodacious non-alcoholic red is easy to find almost everywhere. In the U.S., you can order it online through GetGruvi.com or pick it up at Whole Foods or Total Wine. If you're in Canada, you can also find the Dry Secco at any Sobeys or Safeway store throughout the country. You can also click on this handy map to find a location near you.

Let us know how you like it if you try it!

Cheers!