Review: Oddbird Non-Alcoholic Presence and Addiction

Oddbird is the producer of some of my favorite non-alcoholic wines, and the brand recently sent two new expressions that we hadn’t yet seen, the white blend Presence and the red Addiction. We tasted them on a recent “day off” from the hard sauce.

Oddbird Presence – A blend of riesling, gewurztraminer, sylvaner, viognier, and sauvignon blanc, produced in France. Perhaps the best non-alcoholic still wine I’ve tasted to date, this wine blends a beautiful, summery fruitiness into a swirl of pineapple, mango, coconut, and lemon curd, making for a complex  and refreshing experience. Lightly tart without being vinegary in the way that many NA wines can be, it’s a gentle ride all the way to the end. Tropical elements dominate the finish, though a light floral character lingers as the wine fades out, adding complexity. A / $25

Oddbird Addiction – 100% tempranillo from Spain, aged 12 months. Non-alcoholic red wines are incredibly difficult to pull off, but this is the best I’ve seen to date. A light sweetness opens the experience with notes of ripe raspberry and maraschino cherries, with light notes of green tobacco leaf some mint evident. A gentle mandarin orange character adds a touch of citrus to the finish — again on the sweet side, with a touch of strawberry and a dash of Sunny Delight. Refreshing and not at all cloying, you won’t find the gravitas of a real tempranillo here, but you will find its spirit. B+ / $31

oddbird.com / thezeroproof.com

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