Expert issues surprising warning over non-alcoholic wine

Non-alcoholic alternatives to beers and wines have grown in popularity in step with an increasingly sober population spurred by Gen Z.

They’re a nice way to switch from boozing to non-boozing, giving you a similar kind of refreshment without alcohol doing its business in your system.

Kicking habits can be easier if you replace old rituals with new ones, so if you’re accustomed to a drink at the pub or a cold one after work then you can give the itch a familiar scratch by opting for a non-alcoholic drink.

Experts have warned that alcohol-free wine may have elevated sugar content

You might initially find the flavour a bit jarring, but past the initial hump you can typically get accustomed to it and forget it’s non-alcoholic.

While non-alcoholic booze is a great aid for quitting drinking and for heading to the pub without feeling left out, a couple of experts told Delish about potential pitfalls to look out for when it comes to alcohol-free wine.

Dr Raj Dasgupta, Chief Medical Advisor for Sleepopolis and Kristen Lorenz, a registered dietitian, explained that sugar content is something to watch out for.

"Enjoy it mindfully, ideally with food, and savour the ritual without the hangover," advised Lorenz.

Dasgupta added: "Some versions have added sugars, and at the end of the day, it's still a processed beverage. Enjoy it now and then as part of a balanced routine, just don’t treat it like a health tonic," he adds.

He explained that there’s also a difference in the types of alcohol-free wines available, namely non-alcoholic wine and de-alcoholised wine.

"While both terms describe wines with very low alcohol content, dealcoholized wine is made by first fermenting grapes to create standard alcoholic wine and then removing the alcohol, while non-alcoholic wine may have little to no alcohol from the start," he explained.

Another side note for alcohol-free wine is in the potential health benefits posed by red wine that are usually outweighed by the damage caused by its alcohol content.

Red wine is rich in antioxidants and polyphenols, and non-alcoholic versions contain many of those nutrients. Dasgupta noted, however, that nutrient levels may be depleted by the alcohol removal process.

Red wine contains nutrients that are usually offset by the alcohol (Dragos Ciobanu / 500px/Getty Images)

For those that remain, they are more likely to have a positive effect in non-alcoholic wine than the regular stuff.

"The real benefit of non-alcoholic wine is that you’re not offsetting those antioxidants with alcohol’s downsides, like liver strain or disrupted sleep," said Lorenz.

That said, do keep the sugar content in mind whilst indulging in some alcohol-free drinks.