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 that it is not too alcoholic, while moving away from too sweet and too tropical or sweet-smelling.
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 stronger and warmer, and drier.
Pinot Blanc
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and drier.
Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and drier.
Vernaccia di San Gimignano
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and drier.
Similar but less tannic
For readers who find firm reds drying. Reduces tannic grip while holding flavour and weight roughly steady.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Jacquère
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Melon de Bourgogne
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Muscadet
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Similar but fresher
Raises acidity and overall lift, usually by moving to a cooler-climate expression.
Jacquère
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and drier.
Melon de Bourgogne
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and drier.
Muscadet
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and drier.
Hunter Valley Semillon
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and drier.
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 stronger and warmer, and softer and rounder.
Müller-Thurgau
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be softer and rounder, and stronger and warmer.
Silvaner
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and softer and rounder.
Franken Silvaner
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and drier.
The sparkling version
Moves to a sparkling expression while holding the flavour and weight as close as possible.
Cava
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and fruitier.
Glera
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and fruitier.
English Blanc de Blancs
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and fruitier.
English sparkling wine
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and fruitier.
Similar but drier
Reduces perceptible sugar while keeping aromatic character.
Koshu
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Melon de Bourgogne
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Jacquère
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Muscadet
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
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.
Trebbiano Toscano
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be sweeter, and stronger and warmer.
Trebbiano Romagnolo
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be more aromatic, and stronger and warmer.
Vinho Verde
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, 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.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Jacquère
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Melon de Bourgogne
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Muscadet
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Similar but more restrained
For readers who find intensely aromatic wines tiring over a whole glass. Keeps the structure, turns the volume down.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Jacquère
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Melon de Bourgogne
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Muscadet
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Similar but more floral
Pushes specifically towards rose, violet, blossom and elderflower character.
Kabinett
curatedKabinett is the classic genuinely low-alcohol wine that was never de-alcoholised — the balance is built in rather than removed afterwards.
Expect: Typically 8–9% ABV rather than under 0.5%, and off-dry.
Vinho Verde
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be more aromatic, and stronger and warmer.
Similar but more savoury
Moves away from primary fruit towards earth, herb, meat and umami character.
Muscadet
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Koshu
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Melon de Bourgogne
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and stronger and warmer.
Hunter Valley Semillon
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and fruitier.
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.
Cava
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and fruitier.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay scores closest to Low and no-alcohol wine across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and drier.
Grüner Veltliner
Grüner Veltliner scores closest to Low and no-alcohol wine across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and drier.
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.