Big guns banking on zero-alcohol wines

Let's be brutally honest. Most zero-alcohol and low-alcohol wines are pretty dreadful.

Despite claims to the contrary, many of them simply do not taste like wine.

But industry global big guns Accolade are betting they can do better.

In announcement that got a lot of traction in Britain and South Africa, but flew under the radar in Australia, Accolade has announced it believes it can do better its rivals with a new label called &Then (which, let's be honest, is a dreadful start).

Accolade says &Then is "driven by a desire to elevate the experience of drinking zero-alcohol wines".

It describes the zero-alcohol chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon as "a visionary new collection from South Australia’s cool-climate vineyards" that is "bottled using a revolutionary new de-alcoholising technology".

The result, Accolade says, is "a premium drinking experience and a credible wine alternative that tastes better than any other zero-­alcohol wine on the market".

A pretty confident claim.

Apparently, &Then’s proprietary de-alcoholising technique, The Zero Tech X technology, treats the wine more gently than other de-alcoholising methods.

This, it is claimed, ensures more of the aroma, body and flavour of full-strength wine is retained.

The process also requires fewer sugary additives compared with existing de-alcoholising methods.

The two varietals will be shortly followed by a "Provence-style" rosé, and a Blanc De Blancs sparkling.

The proof, as ever, will be in the tasting.

&Then will be available from June in 750ml format bottles with an RRP of £8 across retail, pubs and bars in the UK.

No news yet on an Australian launch date.