Review: Salute to this beautifully balanced alcohol free Italian red
/Updated from originally published version May 2022
For those of us who are Italian red wine fanatics but are now rethinking drinking, it’s been an elusive search for that bone dry, tannic non alcoholic red wine to replace the favourite Chianti. If you’ve almost given up hope, this new non alcoholic red wine from Italy will almost be an answer to your prayers. Zeero Sangiovese is produced by Casa Emma Di Lepri Fiorella in Italy and available in Canada and the U.S. exclusively through Better Rhodes. One sip, and you will rejoice at the experience of drinking a juicy glass of this non alcoholic Italian red.
The sangiovese varietal is native to Italy, and you will recognize it as the backbone of Chiantis and Brunellos from the Tuscany DOCG region. The grape is a bit of a shapeshifter depending on the appellation but mostly always has notes of tart cherry, sometimes balsamic vinegar and the resulting wines are very dry. It can be described as rustic, which can also mean fruit-forward. Regardless of how and where you drink Sangiovese, it’s a true Italian varietal that is beloved the world over.
The cool thing about Casa Emma and it’s Zeero wine is it’s actually produced in the Classico Chianti region from sangiovese grapes. It’s a true replacement for Chianti. This isn’t a wine that’s been molded in the style of a Chianti, with grapes grown elsewhere in Italy instead of the clay and limestone of the classico appellation. But for the lack of alcohol, this wine is for all intents and purposes a true Chianti wine.
The Zeero Sangiovese is a good expression of the sangiovese style, and drinking it one first has to understand how hard it is to dealcoholize red wine and keep the tannins and dryness intact before you can appreciate how nicely Casa Emma does it here.
There are lots of things appealing about this non alcoholic Tuscan wine, one of the top being its 0g of sugar per serving. This is something a lot of non alcoholic wines struggle with, having between four and eight grams of sugar per glass. It’s a breakthrough to find a wine with so little sugar and so much flavour.
On the nose, you have nice Sangiovese aromas of currents and blackberry jam. It smells like an Italian red should. As with many of this new breed of non alcoholic wine, there is no off-gassing of chemically rubber aromas thanks to spinning cone technology.
On the palette, you have beautifully balanced tart and fruit flavours of red plum, rhubarb, and cherry. It’s mouthwateringly delicious and juicy. Not a lot of length, but that’s not unusual for most dealcoholized wines. The label says ‘extra dry’ and it’s bang on - this is perhaps the first truly dry non alcoholic red wine available in Canada.
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There are very delicate tannins and acidity present, which demonstrates the craftsmanship that has made this wine possible. Although it’s not as complex as a full octane Italian red, it does hint at its Tuscan origins. It doesn’t drink like a pricey grape juice, as some have come to expect from the more commercialised and cheap dealcoholized red wines available here.
Since there are tannins and dryness to this wine, it will pair nicely with steak but don’t expect it to cut through the meat like a true Brunello. As an accompaniment to Friday night pasta or pizza, it’s delightful.
Available through at Upside Drinks (ships to both U.S. and Canada).
Overall, it’s a well-balanced, light dry wine that improves with every sip and elevates the occasion whatever that might be. Ciao and salute friends!
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.
