Wine Alternatives

[cbarre02]

Neither my dining partner nor I consume alcohol. Though we both respect wine and all of it's history and glory, we would rather find another beverage that can be paired with wonderful food. I understand that no beverage can compete with wine on this level, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

Soft drinks, I believe are not one of the alternative, and water doesn't do much for food complimenting. While coffee can be nice at the end of the meal with a robust flavored dessert, it is too strong (and to hot) to go well with meat courses.

With that said I was wondering if anyone had any creative ideas, as we are going to a wonderful restaurant on Friday.

[ludja]

I know you said you weren't too excited about water; but when I can't drink (or not much) at dinner, I go for a sparkling water...

Other idea could be a dry sparkling cider... non-alcolholic; not sure if that exists though..

Edited December 11, 2003 by ludja (log)

[bilrus]

I know you said you weren't too excited about water; but when I can't drink (or not much) at dinner, I go for a sparkling water...

Other idea could be a dry sparkling cider... non-alcolholic; not sure if that exists though..

My wife likes to drink cranberry juice when not drinking. I am a (tap)water man myself.

[Andre]

A very careful question there.

The wonderful world of tea is very widely open for you guys.

Another healthy suggestion is not to drink at all during the meal and enjoy your favorite water at the end.

[Christopher]

If this is a restaurant that allows one to bring in bottles with a corkage fee I would look for vitis vinifera juices. I know that there is this on the market (Navarro Grape Juice )and have actually had the Pinot Noir, which is pretty good.

(These are not dealcoholized wines, these are juices that were never fermented.)

[phaelon56]

As yet another food lover who does not consume alcohol (for all the right reasons ) , I'm often in this dilemma. I have always consumed some kind of liquid with meals and find it necessary not only to cleanse the palate but for making consumption of the food more pleasant.

As a digestif preceding the meal I will often order a tonic water with a splash of Rose's lime juice or better yet, if I'm fortunate enough to be in a place that has fresh lime juice available, a glass of tonic with about 3/4 oz of lime juice mixed in.

To me, de-alcoholized wines are pointless. Bully Hill, a NY state vintner with some okay wines, used to offer both red and white grape juice but they are both sweet. The flavor, particularly of the white, is much more complex than ordinary grape juice, as they are made from wine grapes. There are two problems with the Bully Hill product - first, the swetness, especially of the red and second, they're no loonger easy to obtain unless you buy by the case direct from the vintner.

My drink of choice at the moment is

Ame

(pronunced ahh-may). It's nnon-alcoholic in nature, has herbal essences in addition to grape extracts for flavor and is much lighter and less sweet than any of the other non-alcoholic beverages I've tried. The Rose is a trifle too sweet for my taste, the red is a bit heavier bodied and interesting and the white is very good - nice and crisp with just a hint of sweetness. The trace of efferevescence is light - it does not have the characteristics of a carbonated beverage.

If you're in the Northeast it is available at most Wegmans supermarkets at about $5 or $6 per bottle . It's now available online for ony $2.49 for 330 ml bottles but the 750 ml bottles like Wegmans carries are $4.99 - I imagine shipping bumps the cost up considerably. The web site lists a "dry" version that I haven't tried but it sounds like an ideal alternative to white wine.

The only good apple based beverage I've tried that might be a nice alternative with food is Cidona but I have yet to see it outside of Ireland.

[cbarre02]

Last evening my companion and I had a wonderful night out, and quite possibly the best meal of our lives. For those who are wondering we had dinner at Tribute in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

I would like to thank all for there replies

[Mayhaw Man]

Last evening my companion and I had a wonderful night out, and quite possibly the best meal of our lives. For those who are wondering we had dinner at Tribute in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

I would like to thank all for there replies

What did you end up drinking with your meal? Inquiring minds want to know.

[cbarre02]

For the first 2 (of eight) courses we had sparkling water, which was nice because both of our first courses had citrus. And the sparkling water seemed to add a nice edge to the slightly sweet sauces.

For 3 and 4 we had our asked our server what he could recommend, he then in turn returned to the table with some kind of wonder full white grape mixed drink (non-alcoholic). I have to admit I don't really know what it was, but it was rather dry and quite wonderful.

For the cheese and Meat courses.....We fell both of us enjoyed a single glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and loved every last drop of it. It isn't that we don't drink alcohol, its just we don't drink much of it. I am truly glad that we didn't go dry all the way through

I nice glass of Evian through the lighter of the two dessert course, and then a wonderful cup of coffee to go with a milk chocolate mille feuille.