If you like this, try…
Wines like Low and no-alcohol wine
Wine with alcohol removed after fermentation, or made deliberately light — a fast-growing adjacent category with its own technical constraints. Below: what to try next, grouped by the direction you want to travel.
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What do you like about Low and no-alcohol wine?
Optional — the results below already work without it. But “I like Malbec” is at least four different preferences wearing one name, and saying which one you mean changes the answer substantially. Only qualities this wine actually has are offered.
What these words mean
- The citrus and orchard fruit
- Lemon, lime, green apple, pear. The signature of a cool-climate white — quieter and less perfumed than tropical fruit, and a different thing from the acidity it usually travels with.
- The tropical fruit
- Passionfruit, mango, pineapple, guava. It comes from riper fruit and warmer sites, and it is the difference between Marlborough and Sancerre in the same grape.
- That it is not too strong
- Alcohol you notice as warmth at the back of the throat. Some people find it a pleasant part of a big red and some find it tiring.
- How light it is
- A wine you can drink without it feeling like a commitment. Usually lower in alcohol as well as lighter in the mouth.
- The touch of sweetness
- Actual sugar left in the wine, which is a different thing from tasting fruity. A wine can smell of ripe peach and be completely dry.
Looking for something keeping how light and easy it feels and that it is not too alcoholic, while moving away from too alcoholic or warming and too tropical or sweet-smelling.
- You said you like that it is not too alcoholic and that it is too alcoholic or warming. Both are about alcohol, so they pull the same axis in opposite directions — the dislike is applied and the like is set aside.
Change the structure
Same idea, different weight, grip or freshness.
Similar but fuller
Keeps the character but adds weight, concentration and mouthfeel.
Chasselas
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and softer and rounder.
Pinot Blanc
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Sémillon
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Similar but less tannic
For readers who find firm reds drying. Reduces tannic grip while holding flavour and weight roughly steady.
Trebbiano Toscano
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and less oaky.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and drier.
Melon de Bourgogne
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Muscadet
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Similar but fresher
Raises acidity and overall lift, usually by moving to a cooler-climate expression.
Melon de Bourgogne
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and lighter in alcohol.
Muscadet
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and lighter in alcohol.
Jacquère
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and lighter in alcohol.
Gavi
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and fruitier.
Similar but softer
Lowers acidity and sharpness in favour of a broader, gentler feel.
Chasselas
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be softer and rounder, and fuller and richer.
Silvaner
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and softer and rounder.
Müller-Thurgau
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be softer and rounder, and lighter in alcohol.
Franken Silvaner
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and softer and rounder.
The sparkling version
Moves to a sparkling expression while holding the flavour and weight as close as possible.
Glera
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be fruitier, and more aromatic.
English Blanc de Blancs
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be fruitier, and fresher and more acidic.
Cava
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
English sparkling wine
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Similar but drier
Reduces perceptible sugar while keeping aromatic character.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and drier.
Pinot Grigio
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be fruitier, and drier.
Melon de Bourgogne
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Muscadet
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Similar but sweeter
Adds perceptible sweetness, which also softens acidity and chilli heat.
Moscato d’Asti
curatedFermentation is stopped early, leaving both sugar and very little alcohol, which is a different route to the same lightness.
Expect: Sweet and lightly sparkling, around 5–6% ABV.
Asti
Asti scores closest to Low and no-alcohol wine across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be fruitier, and more aromatic.
Coteaux du Layon
Coteaux du Layon scores closest to Low and no-alcohol wine across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be fruitier, and fuller and richer.
Recioto della Valpolicella
Recioto della Valpolicella scores closest to Low and no-alcohol wine across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Change the flavour
Same shape, different aromatic character.
Similar but less oaky
One of the commonest requests in wine. Strips oak influence while holding grape character and weight.
Trebbiano Toscano
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and rounder and creamier in texture.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and drier.
Pinot Grigio
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be fruitier, and drier.
Melon de Bourgogne
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Similar but more oaky
Adds barrel character, toast and a creamier texture.
Similar but more restrained
For readers who find intensely aromatic wines tiring over a whole glass. Keeps the structure, turns the volume down.
Trebbiano Toscano
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and less oaky.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and drier.
Melon de Bourgogne
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Muscadet
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Similar but more floral
Pushes specifically towards rose, violet, blossom and elderflower character.
Welsh white wine
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be more aromatic, and fruitier.
Aidani
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be more aromatic, and fruitier.
Glera
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be more aromatic, and fruitier.
Parellada
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be more aromatic, and lighter in alcohol.
Similar but more savoury
Moves away from primary fruit towards earth, herb, meat and umami character.
Muscadet
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and drier.
Melon de Bourgogne
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter in alcohol, and fresher and more acidic.
Chasselas
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and softer and rounder.
Change the mood
Safer, stranger, cheaper or more serious.
A step up
The benchmark expressions of the same territory, usually with more concentration, structure and ageing potential.
Grüner Veltliner
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Chenin Blanc
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Cava
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Chablis
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and fruitier.
Each suggestion is scored across sixteen taste dimensions, weighted so that structure matters more than flavour, and adjusted for whether the wine actually moves in the direction you asked for. Curated links from an editor carry extra weight — but only when the editor tagged them for this direction. Nothing here is a black box; see the taste model for the full method.