What to Sip When You’re Staying Sober

Drinks columnist Alice Lascelles spills the tea on her choice of non-alcoholic drinks. 

I’m still on the search for a really outstanding non-alcoholic wine, but sparkling non-alcs tend to be better than still — Beau Viva sparkling rosé, which is made by the same people as the popular provencale rosé Aix, is the best I’ve tried. But if you’re after a really grown-up teetotal fizz, look to sparkling teas, the very best of which can offer almost as much provenance, complexity and structure as the real thing.

Saicho sparkling teas are what I serve friends at home who aren’t drinking — no other brand does a better job of translating the taste of the leaf. “We believe that tea is to be revered and celebrated as a cornerstone of culture and tradition,” says Natalie Winkworth-Smith, who founded the company with her husband Charlie after growing frustrated by the non-alc options in fine-dining restaurants.

Saicho uses the gentle method of cold-infusion, which helps preserve the delicacy and fragrance of their single-origin leaves. The core range includes a Jasmine tea (which makes a great alternative to champagne), a Darjeeling and a roasty Hojicha. The latter two, in particular, are very good with food. New to the range is also Osmanthus, which is brewed from oolong scented with osmanthus blossoms, a technique which imbues the final sparkling tea with a wonderful honeyed perfume. The finish, though, is dry and finely tannic.

Saicho also releases the occasional limited edition made from super high-end tea: the most recent was the excellent Sixty Stone Mountain, which starred a rare black tea from a single plot in Taiwan. This good-looking bottle would be one to give as a present or take to a dinner party. (Caffeine content varies by style, but a single 125ml (4.4oz) glass of Saicho contains a maximum of 22.5mg, or less than half what you’d find in a cup of coffee.) 

Saicho sweetens its teas slightly with grape juice — which I think gives them greater balance, and makes them a better food match. But if you like your tea bone dry, try the Jasmine Pearls sparkler by fine-tea specialists Jing.

Others contain fermented tea, which can add flavor and texture too, while keeping alcohol content at zero or, at least, pretty negligible.

The Ama Brewery in San Sebastian is run by two alumni of two-Michelin-starred restaurant Mugaritz, who approach fermentation with the same obsessive attention to detail as winemakers. Their top-tier pet-nat range is fermented from tea like kombucha and cellar-aged on the lees like champagne, resulting in ultra-low abv sparklers with a yeasty tang reminiscent of natural wine and wonderfully creamy, fine bubbles.

Ama’s Lau is made from fine Taiwanese milk oolong tea – a style mid-way between green and black – which produces a 2 percent ABV ferment with an elegant creaminess and rounded notes of cooked chestnuts. Bi Lemongrass (1.5 percent ABV) is fermented from organic Sri Lankan lemongrass, which gives it a delicate citrus/floral fragrance and appetising complexity. The smart-looking bottles would be right at home on any dinner table.

Real sparkling teas are fermented in the grounds of Waddesdon Estate in Buckinghamshire, England, which is home to the long-time Rothschild family seat Waddesdon Manor. Real’s range include Dry, a sparkling white made from pan-fired Dragonwell green tea; Sec, a sparkling white from first flush Darjeeling; and Blush, a red-berry rosé made from Darjeeling and White Peony loose-leaf teas and red grape skins. Of the three, my favourite is the Dry, which has crisp bubbles and mouthwatering lemon/apple/passionfruit notes balanced by the grassy grip of green tea. 

Last but not least is Substance, a trio of 0 percent ABV sparkling tea blends from Provence, which have become the chosen non-alcoholic sparkler for Les Caves de Pyrene, the UK’s pre-eminent natural wine importer. I find some of these recipes a bit out there, but I was rather charmed by Aurore — a blend of organic sencha tea, pomelo, hibiscus and rosewater, which has cool, fresh aromas of grassy meadows, lychee and rose.