There’s a subtle but seismic shift happening in London this summer. At parks, pools and parties, alcohol is no longer a mainstay. Millennials are officially tired of drinking, replacing booze with dry alternatives.
“The rise of no- and low-alcohol beers, wines and spirits is one of the biggest trends to have disrupted the drinks industry in the past decade,” says Lucy Shaw, editor of The Drinks Business. Studies into the matter cite rising pint costs, health detriments and hangover guilt as factors in Generation Dry.
Last year the no- and low-alcohol wine category was worth £40 million in the UK, with 6.1 million bottles of no- and low-alcohol wine sold in Britain in 2018, according to the Nielsen Changing Consumer Prosperity report.
While making the swap can save money, and save face in social situations, Shaw says there are few benefits in terms of taste, as when alcohol is removed from wine it loses “much of its character and flavour”. To see if the non-alcoholic counterparts really fell flat, we asked our team to take part in a blind taste test of the high street’s best non-alcoholic rosé offerings.
Perfect for a bougie picnic
So Jennie (Fortnum & Mason, £31, fortnumandmason.com)
Fortnum & Mason’s foray into non-alcoholic rosé is by far the most expensive on this list, but with its floral notes and light, fruit-juice taste it goes down a treat.
Verdict: 3/5
No way Rosé
Sainsbury’s Alcohol-Free Rosé (Sainsbury’s, £2.75, sainsburys.co.uk)
Despite the temptingly low price, one of our writers said she wouldn’t drink Sainsbury’s Ribena-esque, own-brand, non-alcoholic rosé if she was “stuck on a desert island”.
Verdict: 1/5
Not for the squeamish
Zera Alcohol-Free Organic Rosé (Holland & Barrett, £6.99, hollandandbarrett.com)
This is the high street’s first vegan, organic, non-alcoholic rosé. According to our team it has “a faint after-taste of sick”.
Verdict: 1/5
Fruity number
Eisberg Rosé (Tesco, £3.50, tesco.com)
Our blind taste test garnered comments to the tune of “just like flat cider” and “tastes like off fruit”, but it was agreed this was one of the only de-alcoholised rosés that actually tasted like rosé.
Verdict: 3/5
No sparkle
M&S Alcohol-Free Rosé (M&S, £3.50, marksandspencer.com)
Usually a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, M&S disappoints with its own-brand, non-alcoholic rosé, described as “sweet, cloying and deeply upsetting”.
Verdict: 1/5
Summer in a bottle
M&S Fizzero Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Rosé (M&S, £3.75, marksandspencer.com)
During our taste test the sparkling rosé variants triumphed over the flat, with Fizzero from M&S described as having “a summery taste, like strawberries and sunshine”.
Verdict: 4/5
Elderflower fizz is a crowd pleaser
Eisberg Sparkling Rosé (Ocado, £4, ocado.com)
Despite its counterpart failing to impress, Eisberg’s sparkling option tastes “a bit like fizzy elderflower” and is a certain picnic-pleaser.
Verdict: 4/5
Fruity fizz hits all the right notes
The Bees Knees Sparkling Rosé (Ocado, £3.99, ocado.com)
This wine lives up to its promising name with its punchy blackberry flavour, offering a “dessert wine-level of sweetness”.
Verdict: 3/5
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