Review: Oddbird Addiction Non-Alcoholic Red Wine from Spain
/Oddbird Addiction is a brilliant attempt at non-alcoholic Spanish wine
One of our top non-alcoholic red wines of all time is called the Edenvale Expedition Series Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon. The brand is Australian, but the wine was made in Spain under the guidance of a very experienced, award-winning winemaker. It’s been a very long time since a Spanish wine of this caliber has launched onto the n/a scene, so it was truly exciting when Oddbird Addiction landed.
Oddbird has been around for a very long time - in fact, they began their non-alcoholic brand almost two decades ago. They happened to be at the right place at the right time when the non-alcoholic wine category started becoming popular in 2020/2021. Since then, they’ve continued to expand their line and innovate with new and interesting non-alcoholic wine making techniques. The Oddbird Addiction is no exception.
Click here for our review of the Oddbird GSM non-alcoholic wine
I love history so of course, I had to dig a bit to discover the background of tempranillo and the region of Rioja. Tempranillo is the most common red varietal in Spain and it’s hallmark is dusty and dry tannins. Phoenician settlers in the region of Spain started making wine in the 11th century B.C., and a lot of historical Rioja region vineyards were planted by Romans. Tempranillo itself was first mentioned in a 16th century text as “aragonés” - one of the many synonyms for this grape. So needless to say, this is an old and storied grape with its own set of characteristics and style.
The Oddbird Addiction, in particulary, is a non-alcoholic red wine made with 100% tempranillo grapes in Spain. I’m not sure if it's a single vineyard or a blend, but it doesn’t matter, as the characteristics of a wine from the Rioja are there. It’s dealcoholized using advanced vacuum distillation.
Aroma
On the nose it’s quite fruit forward - it smells like it’s going to be a juicy wine which is sort of deceiving. There’s also a hint of smoke, leather and a little bit of pepper.
Taste
This wine is incredibly dry - and I don’t mean just a little hint of dryness, it stops short of being almost unpalatable. In a category full of fruit forward wines, it’s a relief to feel the tannins on the palate finally. It’s really reminiscent of the old world, dusty Rioja reds that are the hallmark of Spanish wines but not as fruity as a crianza. It doesn’t taste cheap - and is quite elegant with a nice dustiness, some smoke, dried herbs and subtle notes of dark cherry.
Mouthfeel
There’s a nice balanced weight to this non-alcoholic red, meaning that it’s not heavy with fruit but also not thin like some of the ‘low sugar’ non-alcoholic options. It’s not stripped down despite having only 5g of sugar per glass.
What to Pair With Oddbird Addiction
This is a perfect wine for cheese boards and charcuterie. Definitely pick up some Iberico or Manchego cheese. I never liked to pair Rioja style wines with steak because I found the dryness too much, but a nice bloody prime beef burger would be exceptional with this.
Overall, this was a fantastic wine. One of the best I’ve had and this is definitely being added to the list of best red wines in the non-alcoholic category. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of this particular bottle in the future!
Score: 95 - a few marks off for the overwhelming dryness, which I think could have been more balanced with fruit.
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.
