Review: St Buena Vida Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wine
/St Buena Vida Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Chardonnay, Spain, $32
If you’ve never heard of St. Buena Vida, same here! It was a surprise to get an email from Better Rhodes announcing this best seller was back in stock. It turns out it’s one of those insider secret finds but there is no gatekeeping here! I was excited to uncork this bottle especially since I love non-alcoholic sparkling wines.
It turns out that St. Beuna Vida Alcohol Removed Sparkling Chardonnay has a very interesting back story and road to market. Founder Lawrence Bremer was previously a global supply chain executive who spent 15 years studying wine on the side and working towards WSET-3 certification. He saw the potential in the non-alcoholic wine market when his wife was pregnant and from there it was off to the races - quitting his job to work towards the goal of creating his first entry into the category.
He chose to start with a base wine of organic chardonnay grown and produced at a small, family-owned winery in Campo de Calatrava, Spain (thus the cava-like profile I mention below).
To dealcoholize the wine, Bremer is using a German technology called Solos, which extracts the aroma distillate after vacuum distillation rather than extraction in a spinning cone. This allows the winemaker to capture the full spectrum of aromas and flavours rather than just a small fraction of them.
The finished product is a sparkling wine that is lighthearted, fun and absolutely a delicious tipple. Here are my thoughts on it:
Aroma
Green apple and a tiny bit of chemical odour from either dealcoholization or carbonation, but it dissipates quickly.
Taste
What a lovely combination of stone fruit, melon and a hint of green apple. This a fresh and lively non-alcoholic wine with a bright acidity that is quite delicious.
It’s off-dry, so a little bit more on the sweeter side for my palate but I think this makes it more enjoyable because it balances out the higher acidity.
It has a nice bite to it, kind of like a Spanish cava but almost drinks like a prosecco with some of those glera qualities to it even though it’s 100% chardonnay.
Mouthfeel & Experience
This has fun soft bubbles that feel very luxurious and expensive. The mousse doesn’t last long but the bubbles stay incorporated and drinks like a mid-range sparkling wine.
What to pair with St. Buena Vida Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Chardonnay
This sparkling wine would be ideal with anything creamy, like a goat cheese salad or risotto. Because of the notes of melon and stone fruit, I think this would also be a great pairing with prosciutto. To be honest, this wine has enough acidity to pair well with a lot of main dishes with white meats like poultry or pork.
Overall
This is a very balanced non-alcoholic sparkling wine, but it does have a really high sugar level at 7g per 100ml (3.5 oz approximately) - this would be just over 10g per glass, so that is something to be cautious of. That being said, I’m not holding the sugar level against it because it doesn’t taste overly sweet and sugary.
It’s delicious and lighthearted and I definitely wanted a second glass!
The fact that Better Rhodes sells out of this quickly every time it’s in stock (even at $32!) is a sign that it’s a true fan favourite for people who enjoy non-alcoholic sparkling wines.
Score: 92 points
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How I rank wines (based on IWSC standards):
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.
