The Complete Wine Experience Without the Alcohol

Fre Wines, America’s largest and best-selling producer of alcohol-removed wines, is celebrating twenty years of safe driving and thoughtful entertaining unseparated from grown-up tastes. Indeed, the idea behind the releases has always been about fun times and connecting people through enjoyment: One thing about wine is the way that it brings people together. It tends to create experiences. Fre wines allow for sophisticated and festive drinks for all social events.

The philosophy behind Fre has been designed in accordance with the principle to provide those who cannot imbibe – sixty-seven million designated drivers, pregnant women, athletes or those who socialize without alcohol for medical, religious or cultural reasons – with wines that let them enjoy themselves even without the alcohol. Some might think that in making this change, the taste must go with, but given the producers’ long history of providing wines consumers actually want and enjoy, the Fre line of wines simply continues what people have come to expect, meaning not sacrificing flavor in the glass, and they’ve done so by not treating the alcohol removal as a batch industrial process. Rather, on a barrel-by-barrel basis, each small lot of wine is produced, guaranteeing a product far different from anything else on the market. No water is used in this process, either – what you get are the flavors and aromas from the vine absent just one of the products of fermentation.

The process by which the wines are produced came originally from Australia and is known as the “the spinning cone.” Fed into the top of a long, thirteen-foot column and then flowing over a series of spinning and stationary cones, centrifigal force spreads the wine out into a thin liquid film, which then comes into contact with nitrogen gas from the bottom of the cone. The aroma and flavor compound are protected this way while the alcohol itself is removed, creating fruity, flavor-filled finished wines.

The resulting award-winning releases provide a range of options, drawing as they do on more than 7,000 acres of California vineyards.  Varietally, there is a light, crisp Chardonnay; a soft, red-fruited Merlot; and a lively, fruity White Zinfandel.  For those who like blends, the Premium Red offers oaky black fruits while the Premium White gives tropical citrus in the glass. Knowing that bubbles make all occasions special, there is also a sparkler – a refreshing Brut made with the traditional blend. Fre Alcohol Removed Wines are available for complementary tasting at the historic Sutter Home tasting room, the Trinchero Napa Valley tasting room, and the Folie a Deux & Napa Cellars tasting room. Thanks to Fre Wines, designated drivers can still enjoy the complete wine experience but without effects of alcohol.