Review: Woody's Blanc de Blanc Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wine

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I don’t often revisit wines once I’ve tried them, unless the vintage has changed, or I hear about how great it is more than several times. In the case of Woody’s, I’ve had both inexperienced wine drinkers and a sommelier tell me they really liked Woody’s Blanc de Blanc within the last six months. Sometimes, but rarely, my tasting notes and review can be skewed based on various lifestyle factors, so I decided to take it for another whirl.

Woody’s non-alcoholic wines are grown and produced in Sonoma County in Northwestern California. Their roster is small but mighty: a blanc de blanc non-alcoholic sparkling wine and a non-alcoholic sparkling rosé → a review of the rosé can be found here.

Both of their wine styles are made with certified organic chardonnay grown at Campovida vineyards and then gently dealcoholized.

The first thing that jumped out at me when I was reading the Woody’s label was the ingredient list. Along with dealcoholized wine, Woody’s has added invert sugar and oak chips to the process. What does that mean? Once pure wine is dealcoholized, it’s thin and sour and winemakers need to reintegrate something to make it fuller and sweeter. The best non-alcoholic winemakers use either unfermented grape must from the same varietal or even a percentage of the original wine. Woody’s went with invert sugar, so I’ll just leave it at that.

The oak chips were added to emulate nutty or toasted flavours that mimic oak barrels. While I’m not against extra manipulation in wine, if you’re doing it, it better taste good.

Aroma

I didn’t smell anything sensational off the top, but after really digging I got a whiff of wet hay and apple.

Taste

To be honest, this doesn’t really taste like sparkling wine or champagne at all. I was surprised because I really did like the Woody’s sparkling rosé, and so many people enjoy this one but to me it’s devoid of complexity. Despite the addition of oak chips to the process, I can’t taste the oak at all. It’s a very ‘one note’ drink, with very little sophistication and an almost homogenous taste. Dare I say apples and citrus? Probably not. I just taste grape juice.

Mouthfeel

The one thing going for this n/a bubbly is the mousse - it’s actually smooth and creamy and quite fun.

Overall

If this non-alcoholic bubbly was transported back to 2015 when no-one but St. Regis or Carl Jung was making sparkling ‘wine’ without alcohol, this would be a home run. But we’re in 2025 and there are a lot of sparkling options in the same price range that deliver a better experience. I think that this is also Woody’s freshman effort and perhaps as they refine their process and work at creating some definition and complexity, their next vintages will be better.

Score: 88

How I rank non-alcoholic 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.

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