Freixenet is taking over the Sparkling wine world and moving into still wines. They have launched, 0.0% Sparkling White and Rose wines which critical acclaim.
However the world of non alcoholic and alcohol free wines is new to many people. They have lots of questions which aren’t easily found on the internet so i thought i would group them all here together for ease.
If you have any more questions that i have not covered then please leave a comment and i will answer it if able.
What type of wine is Freixenet 0.0%?
Freixenet 0.0% is a sparkling wine which comes as both a white and rose. It is made in the style of a Spanish Cava.
A Cava has to come from a specific area in Spain and conform to a specific traditional winemaking method.
Where is Freixenet 0.0% from?
Freixenet are a Spanish company but have vineyards across the world. The make wines in the style of the countries of origin.
Their Freixenet 0.0% range is from the EU with grapes sourced from across the EU.
What is Freixenet 0.0% nutrition profile?
Both of the Freixenet 0.0% sparkling wines have the same nutrition profile below…
KCal – 25 (100ml)
ABV – 0.0%
Carbohydrate content – 6g (100ml)
Of which Sugar – 5.4g (100ml)
Whilst that can look like a lot of added sugar (5.4g), it is actually quite low in terms of an alcohol free sparkling wine. Some can have up to double that!
At 25kcal per 100ml it is much lower in calories than an alcoholic Cava or other alcoholic sparkling wine.
For a full of calories and sugar in non alcoholic wines then read my article on the subject here
What are the ingredients of Freixenet 0.0%?
Freixenet 0.0% is marketed as a “wine based drink” which is slightly unusual.
The top 2 ingredients are…
- Alcohol free wine
- Rectified Grape Must Concentrate
Im sure you can guess what alcohol free wine is but what is Rectified Grape Must Concentrate?
It comes from grape must, after stripping out everything that isn’t sugar based. It is perfect for adding sweetness to wine and also for the enrichment of a grape must as it does not alter any of its characteristics (color, flavor, aroma)
Is Freixenet 0.0% healthy?
Freixenet 0.0% and non alcoholic wines in general have many benefits. Ive written about 13 of them here.
One of the main benefits is a reduction in calories compared to a full alcoholic version but all wines have antioxidants, in particular one called resveratrol. It can have heart health benefits as i’ve discussed here.
A lot of the health benefits come from Freixenet 0.0% containing no alcohol, so there are no effects on your liver, you get a better sleep and there is less falls risk in the elderly.
A note of caution is that there is added sugar and if you are on a low sugar diet or a diabetic then you need to take this into consideration.
How is Freixenet 0.0% made?
A wine can be dealcoholised in one of three ways. Freixenet 0.0% dont tell us the specific technique.
The three are…
- Spinning cone column – This is the most efficient method. It is designed to extract and recover volatile compounds (the delicate flavours in the wine) using steam, under vacuum conditions. It is a far gentler process compared to other extraction techniques meaning more of the wine flavour is retained in the final product.
- Vacuum distilation – A two stage distillation is used to remove the aromatic compounds. It can be done at 30 degrees due to the vacuum so as not to damage the compounds
- Reverse Osmosis – very high pressures, instead of heat are used to force the wine through a fine filter to separate the alcoholic from the aromatic compounds.
For a full overview of how non alcoholic wines are made then read my article on the subject here
Is Freixenet 0.0% really alcohol free?
Labelling in the non alcoholic and alcohol free world are very confusing, with different countries having different rules.
You can read my entire article on how to tell how much alcohol is in a non alcoholic wine here
Freixenet 0.0% has less than 0.05% alcohol by volume which is about as alcohol free as you can get. Bread will contain more alcohol that that from its yeast.
Can i drink Freixenet 0.0% on medication?
As Freixenet 0.0% contains less than 0.0% alcohol by volume, there is no problem with any drug interactions or if you have an alcohol intolerance.
Many foods have a much higher ABV than Freixenet 0.0%
Is it safe to drink Freixenet 0.0% when pregnant?
Freixenet 0.0% is safe to drink in pregnancy. I have researched the topic extensively and consulted with doctors. My article on non alcoholic drinks in pregnancy can be seen here.
In general, alcohol free drinks are safe in pregnancy. They have had their alcohol removed to a level below 0.05% alcohol by volume (ABV) meaning it is not physiologically active.
If you compare that to a ripe banana which may have 0.2-0.4% alcohol by volume
Is it safe to drink Freixenet 0.0% when breastfeeding?
Freixenet 0.0% is safe when breastfeeding. I have written a full article about non alcoholic drinks and breastfeeding here.
In general, alcohol free drinks are safe in breastfeeding. They have had their alcohol removed to a level below 0.05% alcohol by volume (ABV) meaning it is not physiologically active.
If you compare that to a glass of fresh orange juice has an ABV of 0.5%
Does Freixenet 0.0% get you drunk?
No, you can not get drunk drinking Freixenet 0.0%.
I crunched all the numbers and have written an article about how you can’t get drunk on 0.0% wine here
In general you are unable to get drunk from non alcoholic (<0.5% ABV) wine and it is impossible to get drunk from alcohol free (0.0%) wine. The volume of non alcoholic wine required to raise your blood alcohol concentration to the legal intoxication level is not possible to consume or digest.
Can you drink Freixenet 0.0% and drive?
You can drink any amount of Freixenet 0.0% and be safe to drive.
You can reasonably drink up to 900 glasses of alcohol free Freixenet 0.0% (<0.05% ABV) without increasing your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above the legal limit of 0.08%.
Some factors such as size, age and sex and can have an affect on this.
I have crunched all the numbers for you to see my working out in this article
What does Freixenet 0.0% taste like?
I compared the taste of both the Freixenet 0.0% Sparkling White and Rose in this article
White
I think you can definitely tell that there is added grape concentrate. Its a bigger grape hit and less wine hit. It does feel more like Shloer and not quite a dealcoholised wine. For a certain occasion tho, you probably won’t mind.
Rose
This one tastes like Cava. There is a nice full flavour. You get some some strawberry and apples on the palate. Good amount of fizz. The after taste is how you would want. It is sweet and tastes sweet but it’s good
Where can you buy Freixenet 0.0%?
Freixenet 0.0% is available globally in many supermarkets and off licenses.
To check when Amazon have it back in, follow this link
I bought mine in the UK Supermarket, Tesco
Is Freixenet 0.0% halal?
As a wine that contains zero alcoholic i think it can be considered as halal.
As a general rule, alcohol free wine can be Halal. The beer needs to be 0.0% ABV for the strict Islamic Law to deem it Halal. Nearly all the major beer brands are producing zero alcohol beers.
Not all non or low alcoholic wines are 0.0%, meaning it is critical to read the label.
Some wines have gone the extra step of gaining a halal certification. For this an Islamic Council test the wine to ensure it really is 0.0%. You can read about that process here
I have written extensively about if alcohol free beer is halal and you can read my article here
Is Freixenet 0.0% gluten free?
Non alcoholic wine is gluten free as it is not made from any grains. Even if any grains are used in part of the manufacturing, the distillation process would remove any gluten from the finished wine.
Is Freixenet 0.0% vegan?
Freixenet 0.0% is very likely to be vegan. It is not currently listed on barnivore.com but the other Freixenet products are vegan
For more on vegan wines see my article on the matter. Why beers may or may not be and how to check.
