Expert Review: Mionetto Non-Alcoholic Prosecco

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Today’s new non-alcoholic sparkling wine is a real Italian beauty. Iconic, simple and just waiting to be poured on top of some Aperol. She’s classy, but affordable and definitely someone you want to take home to meet mom.

One small problem - and this is where I picture an old Italian guy yelling from his window: "Don't you know there are serious rules about calling yourself a prosecco, lady?”

Today’s non-alcoholic wine started in Italy but then made the long climb over the Alps to Germany where it was dealcoholized and presented to the world. According to the laws of the land, this simple journey from Veneto to Deutschland means it can’t technically be called a prosecco. Regardless of what she’s called, I really enjoyed it and think this sparkler could be your newest summer house wine.

Mionetto Prosecco is a beloved bubbly with an iconic orange label and the suave sophistication one expects of an Italian - but at a price even your nonna will approve of.

To be completely honest, I stopped drinking before this brand became popular in North America, so I’ve never tried the full octane version. I’ve been seeing the orange label pop up in my feed often enough to know people are loving the alcohol-removed version, so I had to try it myself and dig into this bottle's origin story.

The non-alcoholic version of Mionetto is part of the Friexenet-Mionetto family of brands in EU and North America. Friexenet makes two other non-alcoholic bubblies, but if memory serves I wasn’t a huge fan but I will now have to revisit both of them. Mionetto prosecco has such a great reputation, I was confident the non-alcoholic version would do it justice.

Aroma

This non-alcoholic bubbly has such a crisp aroma I was taken aback. It’s fresh and has a hint of young grapes and very light aromatics. It’s never lost on me that non-alcoholic wines of old used to smell like rubber and burned grapes.

Taste

This is a zippy and bright bubbly, with loads of acidity and quite dry with a hint of sweetness. Despite the higher sugar, it doesn’t taste like sweetened, carbonated grape juice. There’s not a lot of complexity, but the acid backbone keeps it crisp and elegant, with notes of peach, apple and cranberry. There is literally nothing to complain about with this bubbly. It’s perfect on it’s own and would be dynamite in either a low-alcohol or no-alcohol spritz.

Experience

The bubbles in the Mionetto are exquisite for a non-alcoholic option. They’re fun, fizzy and nice and tight, almost creamy.

Staying Power

I corked this bottle with a champagne stopper, and tried it again on day 2 and day 3, and it held up really well. The bubbles were still zingy and fresh, and it didn’t taste like flat grape juice as is so often the case with non-alcoholic sparkling wines.

Sugar

The only downside of this bottle is the 7g of sugar per glass. While it’s still not as high as some n/a wines of yesteryear, it’s not good. The new benchmark for good wine with low sugar is 3g and under as there are a lot of these bottles already on the market. Don’t hold this against it though, because it’s worth the glucose spike.

Price

For the price, this is amazing value. For anyone in the U.S., it’s $16/bottle on the Friexnet/Mionetto website and only $14 at chains like ABC or some Total Wines. Better Rhodes is an online retailer carrying it for $15.

In Canada, this has limited availability through Canadian Liquor Store in Western Canada and in Ontario through the LCBO.