Elton John just launched new £10 non-alcoholic ‘wine’ to rival Kylie Minogue’s

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I don’t subscribe to Dry Jan, that’s why I’m not doing it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about moderation when it comes to booze, which is the surefire way to ensure a healthier relationship with alcohol in the long-term, without giving it up entirely.

We could all benefit from mastering the art of Bookending, which is where you start and end your night on a non-alcoholic drink, or even Zebra Striping – following an alcoholic drink with a non-alcoholic drink all night.

I often utilise both these methods, but try to avoid non-alcoholic ‘wines’ when doing so – I’ve tasted a lot of them, and the majority are sickly sweet and unpleasant.

So, you can imagine then, that when I heard that a celebrity like Sir Elton John had come out with a zero-alcoholic ‘sparkling wine’ in January, I was cynical.

But, whether I liked the taste of Elton’s or not, at least I’d be able to say ‘I’m still standing’ at the end of the evening (full disclosure, I thought that was a good joke until I saw they’ve actually used it on their ads to promote the drink).

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To Sir Elton’s credit, after a widely-publicised battle with alcohol addiction, he quit drinking altogether in 1990. His husband, David Furnish, joined him by giving up alcohol himself in 2014.

What they haven’t given up is hosting; they both love to entertain, at home and on a larger scale. I mean, just look at their annual Oscars party, for the love of all things over-the-top.

Trouble is, they were both fans of Champagne and couldn’t find any decent non-alcoholic bottles to replace it. So, they teamed up with Benchmark Drinks, who are behind celebrity wine ranges like Kylie Minogue’s, Gary Barlow’s and Graham Norton’s.

And they went to the right people. Kylie’s is now sold in 36 countries and counting, having sold over 21 million bottles globally – that’s 100 million glasses of the stuff. 

So what is Sir Elton John’s ‘wine’?

I have to put parentheses over ‘wine’ because it can’t officially be called wine. In UK and EU law, a wine is made from fully or partially fermented grapes. Because Sir Elton’s doesn’t go through fermentation, it’s labelled as a ‘drink’.

It’s made from northern Italian Chardonnay grapes, which are ‘fermented’ with a special yeast that doesn’t actually produce alcohol. They’ve also added green tea extract to add a suggestion of tannin-like structure and bubbles from an instant form of carbonation.

Meanwhile, the bottle design features similar artwork to the style of his Greatest Hits album, Diamonds.

Now, I couldn’t taste Sir Elton’s without putting it in the context of another celeb non-alcoholic drink. So, I also got myself a bottle of Kylie’s Alcohol-Free Rosé, made from ‘premium European grapes and green tea from Yunnan’.

So, here goes the celebrity non-alcoholic taste-off…

Elton John Zero Blanc de Blancs 0.0% Alcohol Free, £10, Sainsbury’s

Very pale to the eye, with a thwack of ripe peach on the nose, jasmine and honeysuckle, and some lifted green tea notes that peek through. On the palate, this is a seltzer-like, dry-presenting drink, though there are 35g/l residual sugar, which is fairly high. Peach, apricot and fresh pear come through on the palate with a lime-zesty finish.

Kylie Minogue 0.0% Alcohol Free Sparkling Rosé Wine Based Drink, £6.25, Sainsbury’s

Bubblegum pink in colour, with a nose of ripe strawberries and green tea. On the palate, pomegranate, watermelon, strawberry and green tea notes are evident, with a sweetness that’s not cloying (it has 36g/l residual sugar). The finish majors on green tea notes, led by strawberry sherbet.

The Verdict

Although neither was to my taste, and in no way ‘wine-like’, both are well-made and pleasant drinks that are perfect for moderating your alcohol intake.

I have to say, they are a vast improvement on some of the cloying examples of alcohol-free wine on the market. Anyone who likes a burst of fruit and vibrant flavours should give both of these a try.

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