Alcohol-free Riesling from Rheinhessen, Germany; light bodied and off-dry, notes of petrol, ripe pear, and green apple, with medium acid, and minerals on the finish.
Germans have been producing non-alcoholic wines for over 70 years and that history has led to inventions to improve quality. Innovations in vacuum distillation have improved in recent years, and Leitz found a producer in Rheinhessen who recently patented a new, completely closed system that allows wine alcohol to boil at 28°C, preserving “wine-like” aromas and characteristics. Much like fat, alcohol is a transporter of flavor, and without it, there needs to be something else to carry its flavors to the receiver. Residual sugar does the work for this riesling, though the sugar is nearly eaten up by acidity. This retains its wine-like aromas of orange citrus, rhubarb and tarragon.