Gaaak – It’s Dry January Again
Oh joy – let’s break out the mocktails, zero beer and non-alcoholic wines
Well here it is. Dry January. Thirty-one days of buzz kill following on the heels of weeks of holiday-fueled excess. So it’s goodbye holidays, hello abstinence. Followed by… Mardi Gras (yay let’s get really loaded).
Which in turn (if you are Catholic) is followed by Lent (oh boy, 40 more days of fasting and penitence). This year Lent begins on – of all days – Valentine’s Day, which unfortunately is also Ash Wednesday. A great opportunity for you and your true love to bask in self-abnegation. The good news? Superbowl Sunday is February 11th, so you can squeeze in some fun for a few days.
There are many reasons to undertake this now-annual Dry January ritual, but for most of us it’s designed to give the old bod a break. To quote the poet William Wordsworth:
“Happy, happy Liver,
With a soul as strong as a mountain river
Pouring out praise to the Almighty Giver,
Joy and jollity be with us both!”
Well, I don’t promise joy and jollity, but then again maybe you’ll shed some pounds and save a few bucks along the way. But as with all New Year’s resolutions, Dry January is mostly a test of willpower. Because you know there will be speed bumps on the road to success.
I myself have done a full-on Dry January. Once. And I have to tell you, it wasn’t all bad. The best part of it was the first sip of wine I took after a month without. That was the best tasting wine I’ve ever had in my entire life – an $11 Chilean Sauvignon Blanc.
Currently the imbibing world seems to be swinging back into a period of neo-Prohibitionist fear-mongering, wherein any and all consumption of alcohol, we are warned, is fraught with danger. There’s even a “Sober Curious” movement. But for those seeking moderation rather than elimination, there are easier options than going straight cold turkey. You might try doing Damp January, basically reducing your overall consumption and adding in a number of dry days. You might check out some NoLo products – no and low alcohol options that seem to have caught on with Gen Z and Millennials (now referred to as substituters).
According to research by Australian drinks market analyst IWSR, the US and France have the world’s highest proportion of substituters – 45 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. Substitution offers many more shades of abstention than simply quitting. There are mocktails of course. LaCroix has a website loaded with recipes. And for the more adventurous, here is an entire book of ideas for concoctions based upon familiar drinks such as Bellinis and French 75s.
Mocktail Club author Derick Santiago points out some important distinctions in the meanings of such terms as zero proof (no alcohol whatsoever), non-alcoholic (can have up to half a percent of alcohol) and de-alcoholized (the alcohol was removed after making the wine).
But let’s get right down to the drinkability of alcohol-free wines. Are they good enough to provide even a modicum of pleasure? Amazon sells a lot of them, and it’s a quick overview of the leading options based upon the reviews they’ve gotten. Using that metric the best choices seem to be sparkling wines from Fre, Lyre’s, Wolffer Estate ‘Spring in a Bottle’, French Bloom, Princess Bollicine, Thomson & Scott Noughty (also organic and vegan), Chateau de Fleur and Pierre Chavin Perle Rose. Other than bubbly, non-alcoholic white wines generally seem to do better than reds.
But since this is a full service Substack, I’ve plunged into the heart of dampness with a look at six alcohol-removed offerings from Fre and one newcomer.
Fre has an informative website with answers to questions about alcohol-free wines as well as profiles of their expansive lineup. I tasted the Sparkling Brut, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rosé, Red Blend, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Calories (45 – 70 per 8 ounce pour) are listed on the back label. The still wines are line-priced at $9, $10 for the bubbly.
The white, sparkling and rosé wines are sweetly fruity; the lack of alcohol inevitably throwing the balance off and putting a hole in the mid-palate. The Brut somewhat compensates with the carbonation, and I much preferred the Sauv Blanc over the odd-tasting Chardonnay. The Rosé would be my choice for mocktails.
Among the reds the Merlot was a pleasant surprise. In the world of $9 Merlots, with or without alcohol, I wouldn’t expect to find anything much better. The Cabernet – drier, thinner – was preferred by my tasting buddy Richard. I also tried a red blend from a brand called Surely. It smelled like bacon and tasted like charred wood.
My personal approach to a moderately damp January? Spitting. Anyone who tastes wine professionally knows that this is an essential skill. For this month I will spit everything. No swallowing allowed. We’ll see how that works out.
Happy abstinence everyone!
But… just in case you need a backup plan… here are some excellent wines to pour for any mid-January emergencies.
Canvasback
Canvasback 2022 Riesling – This hits the palate with a sweet/tart intensity. It’s dry and quite fruity, mixing apple and orange and peach flavors, set against well-matched acidity. Sourced from two Royal Slope vineyards, it was aged for eight months in a mix of stainless steel and Austrian oak (one quarter new). The oak seems to have toned down the acids without adding obvious oaky flavors, and shortened the finish. 12.5%; $34 (Royal Slope) 89/100
Canvasback 2020 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Merlot – It is a Merlot such as this that solidifies Washington State’s reputation for making great wines from this mostly-less-than-great variety. Rich and supple, this pulls berries and plums and black cherries into a spicy, broad and flavorful core. The addition of 18% Cabernet Sauvignon from this iconic vineyard undoubtedly adds muscle and darkens up the tannins. Half the barrels were new. 14.5%; $74 (Red Mountain) 93/100
Canvasback 2020 Red Mountain Syrah – A single vineyard Red Mountain Syrah was released earlier (see below). Assuming these are barrels sourced at least in part from the same vineyard, this is a lighter, spicy, less dense version of that wine. But still balanced and very well made, with brambly red fruits, earthy tannins, some saline character and fine balance overall. Best drinking should be 2025 to 2030. 14.5%; $63 (Red Mountain) 92/100
Canvasback 2020 Red Heaven Vineyard Syrah – This is Washington Syrah at its finest – dense, granular, textured, deep and loaded with black fruits, black tea and black licorice. It's a potent, powerful wine, with rich, chalky tannins, yet it avoids the overloaded 15+% alcohol that can burn out the finish of some Syrahs. I'd give this a ten year life for prime drinking. 14.5%; $74 (Red Mountain) 94/100
Featured Wine
Canvasback 2020 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
The blend is 82% Cab, 12% Merlot and 6% Malbec, sourced from top Red Mountain vineyards including Ciel du Cheval, Klipsun, Obelisco and Quintessence. It’s a beautiful wine, smooth and satiny, loaded with ripe black fruits and kissed with toast from 40% new French oak. There are streaks of caramel and vanilla, mocha and mud pie – all the flavors that make young Cabs irresistible. 14.5%; $44 (Red Mountain) 94/100
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