Zeno ‘Alcohol Liberated’ Red
Zeno is a range of “alcohol liberated” (low alcohol) wines named after the Greek philosopher and inspired by his Stoic virtues.
They are prestige quality drinks aimed at wine enthusiasts, made by wine enthusiasts: two wine trade veterans, a formidable vigneron and a virtuoso Master of Wine.
The commitment to quality starts in vineyards in central Spain, where the grapes are organically grown. At harvest there is the selection of parcels of the best fruit with specific qualities tailored for getting the perfect result through the de-alcoholisation process.
Carefully vinified in Bodegas Lozano’s world class winery, the wines are then meticulously blended before gently removing the alcohol using the world’s most advanced vacuum distillation technology. Finally, further extensive blending and tasting follows, led by the resident MW, to achieve wines with regional expression and sophisticated aromas and flavours.
Varietals: 80% Tempranillo & 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Awards:
Gold Medal – 95 points, IWSC 2022
Bronze Medal – Drinks Business 2022
Great Taste Award 2023
Vibrant ruby red with bright salmon pink edge. Pronounced aromas of red and black forest fruits, sweet spices with a hint of sweet green pepper and smooth, savoury tannin.
On the palate, ripe blackberries and raspberries merge with juicy plums and hints of crisp cherry. There is spice, pepper and bright tannin adding weight to a creamy mouthfeel and textured, satisfyingly long finish.
About the Producer
Vinolo Ltd
Vinolo – ‘Vin No/Low’ – has its origins with two wine professionals looking to cut down on their alcohol intake but unable to find a passable wine to drink.
Engaging with Jane Masters, a MW with a chemistry background, led to much research to overcome the difficulties in making a quality low-alcohol wine – without alcohol, wine is essentially unstable and looses may of its nuanced aromas and flavours.
Launched in 2022 at Provin they immediately won a gold for the red and sparkling white, with further success at the Sommelier Awards after the commercial launch in Waitrose in December the same year.
These are food orientated wines. The residual sugar of 25-30g/lt (they are looking to reduce this towards 18) emphasises fruitiness not sweetness through the use of gum arabic – which helps with texture and mouthfeel, giving the wine ‘legs’ and also holds the aromas.
The wines are between 0.2-0.3% for good reason: any lower and they lose aromatics, they are registering for organic certification which is not allowed for 0.0% wine, and their target market is those who choose to drink less, not a non-alcoholic lifestyle – hence their tag-line “alcohol liberated”.
Spanish company Lozano make their wine in a full and proper way – the alcohol being removed by a separate process in another factory. This utilises the GoLo process, an advance on the standard spinning cone that removes alcohol in one step, not multiple passes, and at lower temperatures – thus preserving the subtleties and aromatics.
