The first alcohol-removed wine to beat wines with alcohol at their own competition, in 1986.
ARIEL began because a hotel chain asked. Hyatt noticed its alcohol sales falling and went to J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, who had been making their wines since 1974, and asked whether a wine without the alcohol was possible. The answer arrived in 1985, and it went on to win a Gold Medal against wines with alcohol at the Los Angeles Commercial Wine & Spirits competition. Forty years on, that is still a rare thing.
The method is J. Lohr’s own and they hold the patent on it: reverse osmosis, which separates the alcohol out under pressure rather than with heat, so the aromatics are never cooked off. The grapes come from their sustainably farmed estate vineyards in Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco and in Paso Robles, and the wine is fermented and barrel-aged in full before any of that begins. The oak happens first, which is why the Cabernet has grip and the Chardonnay has a whisper of toast.
The name is Shakespeare’s — Ariel, the ethereal spirit of The Tempest — and in 2024 the bottles were redrawn around it, with botanical illustrations, lighter glass and a screwcap. Two wines: a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Producer
- Ariel Vineyards
- Based in
- United States
- Founded
- 1985
- Sizes
- 750 mL
