Non-alcoholic champagne prices soar to $100 a bottle – but Post tasters say it’s ‘sad soda’

Blisters without problems?

New, drunk champagne boasts the creativity and taste of a superior sparkler – without the harmful effects of alcohol.

Oddbird, which specializes in non-alcoholic wines, recently released C, a sparkling cuvée distilled from traditional champagne and Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier grapes – a first for the wine producer in the exploding no-alcohol (NA) market.

“Our idea was, how can we change our drinking culture?” Oddbird CEO Mehmet Gürbüzer told The Post, describing their wines as “alcohol-free.” They are among a crowded field of competitors vying for dominance in the NA beverage world.

Oddbird’s latest venture comes with a hefty – and definitely provocative – price tag, however.

At $99 a bottle — and currently only available through a wait list — it’s cheaper than a $250 bottle of full-bodied Krug Champagne, but slightly more than an $80 bottle of Bollinger Special Cuvée NV. And although C is the most expensive wine in the company’s portfolio, the price is in line with the strict winemaking process and production costs.

“The brewing process is not cheap. It’s not just the same thought and resources but there are extra steps,” Gürbüzer told The Post. “You get a great experience that brings culture, community and art, and people have to find out for themselves what they want to pay for.”

And very well they may pay: the the alcohol-free business is booming and blooming, and Fact.MR research projects the NA market will double in the next ten years.

The uptick coincides with the ever-expanding “dreamy” movement, with 60% of Gen Z open to trying low- or no-alcohol drinks, and more than half of all US adults abstaining from alcohol. Just 39% of Gen Z adults now say alcohol is their go-to drink, while more than 60% choose non-alcoholic options when hanging out with friends – the highest rate of any generation.

Alex Highsmith, general manager at Chelsea Spirited Away, the first alcohol-free bottle shop in America, even predicts that the future of the NA market will follow the path of veganism.

“At the very least, I think every liquor store will have an NA section and every bar will have an NA option,” he said. “It’s synonymous with vegetarianism and veganism in this country; it’s no longer unusual to see the Impossible Burger on the menu.”

What is alcoholic wine?

Alcohol-free wine falls into two categories: Wine proxies made with ingredients including grape juice, tea, botanicals and additives that mimic the flavor profile of vino; and sparkling wines such as those offered by Oddbird – as well as other brands including St. Buena Vida, French Blooom, Bolle and Societe de la Rassi – use traditional methods of winemaking and start as full fermentation before alcohol extraction by vacuum distillation, reverse osmosis or spinning cone columns.

Distilled wine retains many of the characteristics of wine with small amounts of alcohol, legally no more than 0.5% ABV.

“It’s the same amount of alcohol in orange juice, an overripe banana, or soy sauce; you can literally drown before you get drunk at that level of alcohol,” Highsmith told The Post.

As an added benefit for the health conscious, the absence of alcohol, which is naturally high in sugar, makes non-boozy wines much lower in calories. For example, Oddbird C clocks in at 18 calories per glass, while regular champagne has 75 calories per glass.

And, who really enjoys a post-indulgence hangover?

“Most of us are getting older and can’t do what we used to do anymore,” Juanita Unger, aka NA Sommelier, told The Post. “A glass or two of wine might give us a hangover, but we have a whole culture about the drinking experience, so finding an alternative that provides that information is important.”

A taste test

Sorry to burst your bubble, NA winemakers – but it’s bubbly without alcohol definitely not everyone.

The Post was given the exclusive opportunity to sample Oddbird’s new C, so we rounded up the dry crew to give it a go. swingand several other NA varieties among the available lot, including: Sparkling Chardonnay by St. Buena Vida ($32), Bolle’s Sparkling Rosé ($39.99), Society de la Rassi’s Neue Brut Sparkling Non-Alcoholic Chardonnay ($59), and French Bloom’s Sparkling $4.

The results were … well, less than stellar.

Managing Editor and wine enthusiast Lia Eustachewich had a case of sour grapes about the NA concept. “It doesn’t work,” he growled. “You have to put alcohol on it and do something bad, or just don’t bother.” Columnist and Lambrusco lover Kirsten Fleming agreed. “What’s the point? I think if you really like the feeling or you feel like you want to feel like you’re drinking, but you can’t… but there’s no need for this. I’d rather drink water.”

Oddbird received a very mixed reaction.

“This tastes like champagne,” says Associate Lifestyle editor Fabiana Buontempo. “If you didn’t give me insight into this, I would be, yes, this is champagne.” Sunday reporter Shane Galvin called it “his favorite of them all.” But investigative journalist Isabel Vincent replied, “It’s not just champagne. I’m sorry. If you gave it to me, like, in a bar, I’d think it was some kind of bad wine.”

Lifestyle reporter Marissa Matozzo and Photographic Researcher Anissa Lorenzi Boukourizia both compared Oddbird to Martinelli’s sparkling apple juice. “Kicking is not enough for me,” said Matozzo. “It’s a little low, like a sad soda.”

Boukourizia replied, “I feel like it’s going to give me acid reflux,” while Fleming said: “This would go well with graham crackers.”

Bolle’s Sparkling Rosé pleased Buontempo, who called it “delicious,” adding, “I could see myself sipping it on a warm, 80-degree day. Intense, refreshing, very pleasant.”

But it was considered “angry” Eustachewich, who said, “If someone brings this to my party, I’m going to kick them out.” Galvin, shrugging skillfully and lifting his mouth, said it was “not bad” but suggested “crushing the ship” with it.

French Bloom was “forgotten” by rosé fan Matozzo, saying, “This doesn’t satisfy my rosé cravings.” Astounded Lorenzi Boukourizia adulterated the fate of the artificial sweetener. ”Tastes like an unsweetened peach ring [candy]but a less closed version of that.”

“It tastes like dog’s urine,” lamented Eustachewich to the Society de la Rassi, “like tomorrow’s leftover apple juice from your child’s cup.” Vincent admitted that it reminded him of “popped apple juice,” adding, “It’s not sparkling enough … It should have bubbles, but it’s not bad.”

St. Buena Vida, however, had great vibes.

Galvin praised its “fruity type of bubbles after the finish, sharp,” which he called “the best scam of wine.” Lorenzi Boukourizia declared that he is a “big fan,” and Matozzo called it “light and breezy … high and beautiful” – summing up that it would be good on a “cool beach day.”

Well, bring out the cork!

Professional take

Wine experts aren’t as harsh critics as The Post staff — but they still flag the shortcomings of the NA industry.

Sparkling and white wines seem better suited to non-alcoholic replacements, Alex Highsmith suggested, but admits the still and red categories leave a lot to be desired.

Ordinary wine, still not drinkable, does not taste like ordinary wine. We taste great, and Oddbird in particular makes a red wine that I think is delicious, but if you taste it next to a sparkling wine, I’d be a fool to say you can’t tell the difference.

However, Highsmith calls the sparkling wine “a wonderful gateway to the rest of the NA category,” and Unger agrees.

“When you get rid of alcohol, you get rid of a lot of body, Bubbles can cover many sins and can add to that lost mouth,” he said.

Highsmith notes that beyond flavor, sparkling wine – especially champagne – is a symbol of celebration and communication that reflects what customers really want in non-alcoholic beverages.

“It’s actually culture that we’re looking to appeal to when we drink, not drunkenness,” he told The Post. “And there’s no ritual as well known as popping the bottle.”