The Best Non-Alcoholic Wine
And Why the Process Matters
There is a version of non-alcoholic wine that asks you to forgive it for what it isn't. Then there is BOLLE. The difference is not marketing, it is chemistry.
Why most non-alcoholic wine
falls short
To understand what makes a non-alcoholic wine genuinely excellent, you need to understand what makes it so difficult to produce.
Ethanol is not just an intoxicant. In wine, it acts as a solvent for hundreds of aroma compounds, contributes body and viscosity, suppresses bitterness, and shapes how every flavour is perceived. When you remove it, which is what every non-alcoholic wine must do, all of those functions disappear simultaneously.
The most common method is vacuum distillation: take a finished wine, apply heat and low pressure, and strip out the alcohol. A 2025 review of dealcoholisation literature found that this process causes a significant decrease in volatile compounds. Terpenes (the compounds responsible for floral and citrus notes) are lost by 92 to 100 percent. Esters, responsible for fruit aromas, are reduced to unquantifiable levels. They don't disappear because the process is careless. They disappear because they're dissolved in ethanol and leave with it.
The category's solution, almost universally, has been to compensate: add sugar to replace the body, add natural flavourings to replace the aroma, top up with carbonated water to replace the texture. The result is a product that reads as sweet, one-dimensional, and unmistakeably non-alcoholic. These wines are not bad. They are just not wine.
A chemist who asked
a different question
Roberto Vanin — BOLLE's founder, a qualified chemist and oenologist — looked at this problem and asked: rather than trying to repair what dealcoholisation destroys, could a second fermentation rebuild complexity from within?
The answer came from wine history, not a laboratory. Champagne is made from base wines that are thin, acidic, and unremarkable on their own. Secondary fermentation transforms them entirely: yeast metabolises sugar and generates esters, glycerol, CO₂, and a spectrum of flavour compounds that build texture and complexity. Roberto recognised that a dealcoholised wine is structurally analogous to that base. The challenge was replicating the transformation without producing significant alcohol.
After years of research and hundreds of experiments, Roberto developed a patent-pending process using specific low-ethanol-producing strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These yeasts consume sugars and generate the flavour compounds and textural elements that matter — with alcohol remaining below 0.5% ABV. No other non-alcoholic wine producer uses this process. It is, as far as we know, the only secondary fermentation in the non-alcoholic wine category.
I didn't enjoy anything that was available. So I wanted to find a solution for myself, and for anyone who wants to drink with moderation.
Roberto Vanin, Founder and Head of R&D, BOLLEHow BOLLE is made:
step by step
Every decision in the BOLLE winemaking process is shaped by the science of what dealcoholisation removes, and how secondary fermentation can rebuild it.
Base wine and dealcoholisation
Every BOLLE wine begins with a base wine selected for its aromatic richness: La Mancha for the sparkling range, Mâcon for the Chardonnay Reserve. It is dealcoholised by vacuum distillation. For most producers, this is the finished product. For BOLLE, it is the canvas.
Fresh grape juice, frozen at harvest
Fresh grape juice, harvested early for higher acidity and lower sugar, is frozen immediately to preserve aromatic integrity. This juice is introduced at secondary fermentation, providing both the sugar for the yeast and the varietal character for the finished wine.
Secondary fermentation in sealed tanks
The dealcoholised wine and fresh juice are combined in sealed stainless steel tanks — a necessity, not a stylistic choice. Without alcohol's antimicrobial properties, the wine is extremely vulnerable to contamination. The patent-pending yeast strains are introduced under tightly controlled conditions. For the sparkling range, fermentation takes place under pressure using the Charmat method. Approximately 80 percent of the final carbonation comes from fermentation itself, not injected CO₂.
Lees ageing (Grand Reserve)
For the Grand Reserve, the wine spends up to nine months on its lees. During autolysis, the yeast releases mannoproteins, polysaccharides, and fatty acids; the same compounds responsible for the brioche character and creamy mouthfeel of aged Champagne.
What's in the bottle:
the label doesn't lie
The back label is the most honest part of any non-alcoholic wine. Compare what you find:
Added sugar, added flavour
A leading competitor in this category lists sparkling water as its first ingredient, followed by dealcoholised wine, grape juice, lemon juice, and natural grape flavour.
Sparkling water, dealcoholised wine, grape juice, lemon juice, natural grape flavour
No fermentation, no complexity
Never-fermented products are built from water, juice, and acidulants. Without fermentation, there is no yeast-derived complexity, glycerol, or lees character.
Water, grape juice, wine vinegar, CO₂, citric acid, tannic acid, preservative
Three ingredients. That's it.
BOLLE's ingredients list reflects a genuine winemaking process, not a recipe assembled around a deficit. No added sugar. No flavourings. No shortcuts.
Dealcoholised wine, grape juice, potassium bisulphite
If you're paying premium prices for a non-alcoholic wine, the label should reflect a genuine winemaking process. The first ingredient should not be water.
The BOLLE range
Five wines. One process. No compromise.
BOLLE Blanc de Blancs
Naturally sparkling · BrutBright, precise, and naturally sparkling. The most versatile wine in the range: built for the table, not as a concession to it. Pairs with shellfish, oysters, and white fish.
Shop Blanc de Blancs →BOLLE Grand Reserve
Naturally sparkling · Up to 9 months on leesUp to nine months on lees. Toasty, complex, with the creamy mid-palate that extended autolysis produces. For Champagne occasions, without the Champagne. Pairs with lobster, aged cheese, and risotto.
Shop Grand Reserve →BOLLE Chardonnay Reserve
Still · Mâcon, FranceSourced from Mâcon, France. A still non-alcoholic Chardonnay of genuine weight and texture. For guests who want wine with dinner, not alongside it.
Shop Chardonnay Reserve →BOLLE Sparkling Rosé
Naturally sparkling · RoséMakes any day feel like summer. Dry, fresh, and easy to drink, the kind of wine that empties faster than you planned. 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, the highest score ever given to a non-alcoholic wine.
Shop Sparkling Rosé →BOLLE Still Chardonnay
Still · Chardonnay & SilvanerRich stone fruit, crisp apple, a hint of citrus. Gold Medal winner. The world's only twice-fermented non-alcoholic still wine.
Shop Still Chardonnay →Frequently asked questions
What makes a non-alcoholic wine taste like real wine?
The structural qualities that make wine taste like wine — acidity, body, aromatic complexity, texture — are built during fermentation, not just present in the grape. Most non-alcoholic wines skip or minimise fermentation, then try to add these qualities back artificially. BOLLE uses a secondary fermentation process, similar in principle to Champagne, to rebuild genuine complexity after dealcoholisation. The result is wine that behaves like wine in the glass.
How is BOLLE different from other non-alcoholic wines?
BOLLE is the only non-alcoholic wine producer to use secondary fermentation with patent-pending yeast strains developed specifically for this purpose. Every other mainstream non-alcoholic wine is either dealcoholised and compensated with sugar and flavourings, or never fermented at all. BOLLE starts with real wine, dealcoholises it, and then ferments it a second time, rebuilding the complexity that standard processes destroy.
What is the sugar content of BOLLE non-alcoholic wine?
Approximately 3 g per 100mL. Brut style, the same as a dry sparkling wine. Most non-alcoholic competitors range from 5 to 6 g per 100mL. BOLLE adds no sugar to its wines. The balance comes from the fermentation process itself.
Does BOLLE contain any alcohol?
Less than 0.5% ABV, which is the legal definition of non-alcoholic in the UK, US, and EU, and is comparable to certain fermented foods and fruit juices.
Can non-alcoholic wine be paired with food like regular wine?
BOLLE's wines are specifically designed for food pairing. The secondary fermentation produces natural acidity balanced by glycerol, the same structure that makes Champagne one of the world's most food-versatile wines. The Blanc de Blancs pairs with shellfish and white fish; the Grand Reserve handles lobster, aged cheese, and risotto.
Is BOLLE available in the US and UK?
Yes. BOLLE ships direct to consumers in the US via bolledrinks.com and in the UK via bolledrinks.co.uk. The range is also available through selected restaurants, hotels, and specialist wine retailers.
BOLLE is produced under a patent-pending process developed by Roberto Vanin, a qualified chemist, oenologist, and former Chief R&D Officer at Suntory Beverages. For more on the science behind the process, see how non-alcoholic wine is made.
Taste the difference
the process makes
BOLLE is available direct with free delivery on two or more bottles. Trade and wholesale enquiries welcome.
