FRE: Alcohol Removed Wines

Tahoe a few weeks ago for my birthday.

Some of my favorite pairings for rich roast chicken are Chardonnay, Rose, and Merlot, and I love meatloaf with Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, for me, it really is the marriage of food and wine that makes both wine and food more exciting for me, more interesting, more compelling. (Well that, and the story behind the wine!)

But this January, since I’m trying to cut back on alcohol, I’m happy to share four alcohol-removed wines from FRE. FRE produces ten wines including two sparkling; this month and next, I’ll tell you about 6 of them starting with Chardonnay, Rose, and Merlot below. with chicken, and with the Cabernet Sauvignon with meatloaf. Coming soon a Sparkling FRE wine for your Dry Valentine, and sometime later, the Sauvignon Blanc. 

First of all, I hate to break it to FRE and to you, but they don’t really taste a whole lot like wine. While they may have been made just like wine just with the alcohol removed, the four wines I’ve now tasted just do not the same complexity and flavor profile as regular wine. Not to say that they are bad, just that they don’t taste like great wine — or even comparable wines at this price point. 

And how exactly does it become booze free? They say FRE wines go though the same vinification process as the traditional wines you usually drink so they say it has a similar taste, just without all the alcohol and all the calories. After traditional fermentation, they use an “exclusive spinning cone process gently removes the alcohol while preserving the wine’s delicate aromas and flavors.” They actually start by capturing the aromas and flavors with this spinning cone, then they use higher temperatures to get out the alcohol, then they add the aromas and flavors back in blended with un-fermented grape juice. 

ALL THAT BEING SAID: The FRE wines do pair with food better than just fruit juice or even most cocktails, and I think they make a great choice for wine based cocktails to cut down on the calories and the booze. Or use FRE in an ingredient for Mocktails — they have lots of ideas with recipes you can find here I’m definitely going to try a few of these out with the sparkling FRE wine for Valentine’s Day! 

3 FRE wines with roast chicken

In fact, I really enjoyed the three below with a gin, lemon, blueberry mint ready made cocktail as it cut down on both the booze and the empty calories, and it actually brightened the ready made cocktail making it more refreshing especially with a squeeze of lemon or lime or orange.  

So once again, my Dry January plans became “Dry-ish”! 

FRE Chardonnay

FRE Chardonnay 

ABV: 0.5%
SRP: $12
Grapes: Chardonnay
sample for my review
18% juice; 60 Calories in an 8oz glass

They say the grapes come from “California’s finest marine-influenced vineyards, where cool breezes and fog allow the grapes to ripen slowly and evenly as they develop rich flavors and complexity.” 

Appearance:  Pale lemon

Aroma: Apples, fruity, florals

Palate: Sweet, golden delicious apples, red delicious apples. Tastes somewhat like chardonnay grapes. Simple. 

Pairing: Works well with the menu, and the wine performs better with food than without. Food elevates the “wine” but the “wine” doesn’t elevate the meal. But if you’re trying to cut out alcohol, this is a reasonable option.

FRE Rose

FRE Rose

ABV: 0.5%
SRP: $12
Grapes: ??
sample for my review
15% juice; 45 calories in an 8 oz glass. 

I didn’t find any information about what the grapes are in this blend.

Appearance:  pale rose gold

Aroma: strawberries

Palate: strawberries, some baking spice on the finish

Pairing: Works well with the menu; the wine performs better with food than without. Food elevates the “wine” but the “wine” doesn’t elevate the meal. Responds well to the salt in the rub on the chicken. Would be good with chicken salad. I think this was my favorite.

FRE  Merlot

FRE  Merlot

ABV: 0.5%
SRP: $12
Grapes: Merlot
sample for my review
19% juice; 70 calories in 8 oz.

Like the Chardonnay, they say the Merlot grapes come from “California’s marine-influenced vineyards, where an extended growing season allows the grapes develop to develop concentrated flavors and complexity.”

Appearance:  Ruby

Aroma: Plum, Concord grapes, baking spice.

Palate: Concord grape jam, plum, raspberry jam, cherry pie, baking spice on the finish along with some loamy earth. Nice spiciness and fruit flavor. 

Pairing: Once again, the wine works well with the menu and performs better with food than without. Food elevates the “wine” but the “wine” doesn’t elevate the meal. I prefer it with the chicken over the salad or potato. On a subsequent evening I tried it with meatloaf and it worked well but it is not the same as wine. I thought this one was pretty decent, but again preferred it in a cocktail.

FRE Cabernet Sauvignon

FRE Cabernet Sauvignon 

ABV: 0.5%
SRP: $12
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon 
sample for my review
12% juice; 5 0 calories in 8 oz

They don’t offer up much information about where these grapes are grown.

Appearance:  Ruby, medium plus density violet ring 

Aroma: Cherry, Plum, Concord grapes, baking spice, green bean casserole 

Palate: Concord grape, cherry, green beans, structure from tannins.  

Pairing: The wine performs better with meatloaf than without bringing out the savory herbs in the wine and the meatloaf bring out the cherry notes. Also: OMG this was such a great meatloaf using wagyu beef!

FRE Merlot and Cab Sauv

If you’re a meatloaf fan, stay tuned: coming soon in February we have southern style inspired meatloaf with Mac n cheese paired with wines from black winemakers and from Sonoma’s Selin Cellars with their sweet heart and wineglass label!