Beyond Substitution: How Low & No Wines Are Finding Their Voice

The IWSC's Alternative Drinks judging has become one of our most compelling success stories. Since launching the Low & No Awards in 2019, entries have grown year on year, and this year's evaluation revealed a category that has evolved far beyond alcohol substitution, finding its own voice and earning medals that reflect its growing maturity and innovation. Here's what stood out.

The NO/LO Still Wine Revolution

Sparkling wines once dominated the low and no alcohol wine scene, but 2025 saw a clear shift. Judges noted a rise in the quality and presence of still whites, rosés and reds. “In some categories, there's been a big leap this year,” observed James Morgan. “Still whites in particular - there's just a massive improvement in quality over previous years. There were some lovely wines in there that, in any category judged with alcoholic wines as well, were just good drinking wines.”

This shift was reflected in the 122 medals awarded across the Low & No Wine category - 5 Gold, 31 Silver and 86 Bronze. Still wines dominated the podium, with white wines leading the charge. It marks a fundamental evolution in the category's identity: moving away from sparkling styles that traditionally masked the challenges of dealcoholisation, toward wines that showcase fruit character and varietal expression.

Notable standouts this year included Edenvale Beverages from Australia, which led the medal tally with 13 awards, including a chart-topping wine that scored an impressive 97 points. Schloss Wachenheim AG of Germany and Miguel Torres S.A. of Spain also performed strongly across the board, reinforcing their reputations for quality in the category. Meanwhile, Rimuss & Strada Wein AG from Switzerland demonstrated excellent consistency, with all five of their entries scoring between 89 and 93 points.

Functional Beverages: The Era of Wine-Adjacents

Beyond still and sparkling styles, judges were intrigued by a growing class of products: functional beverages based on de-alcoholised wine. These drinks, often infused with adaptogens, CBD or mushrooms, are pushing the category into bold new territory, offering not just flavour, but perceived wellness benefits and a new kind of ritual.

Judge Irem Eren noted this shift, observing: “In previous competitions, we didn’t have functional beverages based on de-alcoholised wine… but now we do. The category is changing - becoming richer.”
Fellow judge Josh Kelly added that many of these products are entering “more interesting territories” and should be judged as part of the same conversation, even if they don’t taste like traditional wine. He referred to them as “wine-adjacents”: drinks that present like wine, are consumed like wine, but intentionally move away from imitation.

Fruit Wine Forward

Fruit wines - made from cherries, berries, tropical fruit and beyond - are also seeing a rise in quality and international interest. With 11 medals awarded across this sub-category (1 Gold, 7 Silver, 3 Bronze), producers from nine countries demonstrated the creative potential of alternative fruit sources.
Taiwan's Ikaffe Partner Co. earned the only Gold medal with an impressive 95-point score, whilst Japan's Fujiclair Winery and New Zealand's Zangria both achieved strong Silver medals, scoring 92 points. The geographical spread - from Lithuania to Malaysia, Croatia to Canada - illustrates how fruit wine innovation is truly global, with producers exploring local fruits and traditional techniques to create distinctive beverages.

Finding Their Voice

What emerges from this year's judging is that the best low and no-alcohol wines are no longer trying to perfectly replicate their alcoholic counterparts - they're establishing their own identity based on fruit quality, technical excellence and drinking pleasure.

"The moral of the story is, just like wine that isn't de-alcoholised, you have to start with great fruit," explained Kermode. This insight emerged repeatedly during judging, with the best performers showcasing fruit quality that would satisfy any wine drinker, regardless of alcohol content.

The judges' advice to medal winners reflects the category's growing commercial importance. "Don't bury your non-alcoholic medal on the back page of your website," urged Morgan. "Talk about it front and centre to your agencies, importers and exporters. Make sure it's part of your big brand message, because it's one of the, if not the only, growth area of wine."

Kermode was equally emphatic: "Milk it! You've got an award that's been hard won from a panel that encompasses both non-alcoholic experience and wine experience. It's a big deal."

Ultimately, the people drinking non-alcoholic wines are often the same people who drink alcoholic wines - they're simply choosing a different experience for that particular occasion. Whichever way you slice it,
Alternative Drinks are no longer a side shelf in the corner - they're taking up a whole

The Gold and Silver results follow below. To view the complete list of IWSC results please visit our website.

Lower Alcohol/Mid Strength Wines

Score	Award	Producer	Entry Name	Country of Origin	Wine Colour	Category
94	Silver	Australian Vintage	Mcguigan Mid Sauvignon Blanc	Australia	White	Still -> Medium
93	Silver	Australian Vintage	Mcguigan Mid Shiraz	Australia	Red	Still -> Medium
93	Silver	Giesen	Pure Light 6% Sauvignon Blanc 2023	New Zealand	White	Still -> Medium
92	Silver	Australian Vintage	Tempus Two Lighten Up Pinot Grigio 2024	Australia	White	Still -> Medium
91	Silver	Giesen	Pure Light 6% Pinot Gris 2024	New Zealand	White	Still -> Medium
90	Silver	6Percent	Sauvignon Blanc NV	France	White	Still -> Dry

Sparkling Wines: Low and No Alcohol (<1.2% abv)

Score	Award	Producer	Entry Name	Country of Origin	Wine Colour	Category
97	Gold	Edenvale Beverages	Premium Reserve Shiraz Nv	Australia	Red	Sparkling -> Medium
95	Gold	Manufaktur Jörg Geiger GmbH	Visecco With Sauvignon Blanc	Germany	White	Sparkling -> Medium
94	Silver	Princess srl	Aurea Fenice Dry NV	Italy	White	Sparkling -> Dry
94	Silver	Torres Icons	Natureo Rosé NV	Spain	Rosé	Sparkling -> Medium
93	Silver	Rimuss Kellerei AG	Zero Si Rosé NV	Switzerland	Rosé	Sparkling -> Dry
92	Silver	Edenvale Beverages	Expedition Series Sparkling Cuvee NV	Spain	White	Sparkling -> Medium
91	Silver	DIVIN	Sauvignon Blush 0,0% NV	France	Rosé	Sparkling -> Dry
91	Silver	Rimuss Kellerei AG	Zero Si Blanc NV	Switzerland	White	Sparkling -> Dry
91	Silver	Silver Swallow	Bubbly Not Boozy Rosé	Canada		Sparkling -> Medium
91	Silver	Australian Vintage	Tempus Two Zero Prosecco NV	Australia	White	Sparkling -> Medium
91	Silver	Van Loveren Family Vineyards	Absolute Zero Nectar NV	South Africa	White	Sparkling -> Sweet
91	Silver	Iessi	Il Frizzante	Italy		Sparkling -> Sweet
90	Silver	Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits	Josh Cellars Non-Alcoholic Sparkling	Italy		Sparkling -> Dry
90	Silver	Rimuss Kellerei AG	Rosato Dry NV	Switzerland	Rosé	Sparkling -> Dry
90	Silver	Silver Swallow	Bubbly Not Boozy Blanc	Canada		Sparkling -> Medium
90	Silver	Lea Winery	Franc Lizer Spumante Rosé NV	Italy	Rosé	Sparkling -> Medium

Still Wines Low and No Alcohol (<1.2% abv)

Score	Award	Producer	Entry Name	Country of Origin	Wine Colour	Category
97	Gold	Edenvale Beverages	Expedition Series Verdejo-Sauvignon Blanc NV	Spain	White	Still -> Medium
95	Gold	Vincero Alkoholfrei	Sauvignon Blanc NV	Germany	White	Still -> Dry
94	Silver	Barone Montalto	Passivento Rosso 0.0 NV	Italy	Red	Still -> Dry
93	Silver	Fourth Wave Wine	Plus And Minus Pinot Grigio 2024	Australia	White	Still -> Dry
92	Silver	Fourth Wave Wine	Plus And Minus Pinot Noir 2024	Australia	Red	Still -> Dry
92	Silver	Fourth Wave Wine	Plus And Minus Rosé 2024	Australia	Rosé	Still -> Dry
91	Silver	Delight Drink Limited	Delivine Riesling 2024	Germany	White	Still -> Dry
91	Silver	Holder Vineyard and Wines	Lautus Sauvignon Blanc NV	South Africa	White	Still -> Dry
91	Silver	DIVIN	Rosé 0,0% NV	France	Rosé	Still -> Dry
91	Silver	Edenvale Beverages	Cabernet Sauvignon NV	Australia	Red	Still -> Medium
91	Silver	Australian Vintage	Mcguigan Zero Shiraz 0.5 NV	Australia	Red	Still -> Medium
91	Silver	Torres Icons	Natureo Chardonnay 2023	Spain	White	Still -> Medium
91	Silver	Torres Icons	Natureo Muscat 2024	Spain	White	Still -> Medium
91	Silver	Edenvale Beverages	Sauvignon Blanc NV	Australia	White	Still -> Medium
90	Silver	Giesen	0% Sauvignon Blanc NV	New Zealand	White	Still -> Dry
90	Silver	Les Grands Chais de France	Nozeco Chardonnay Aromatised Drink	Spain	White	Still -> Dry
90	Silver	DIVIN	Pinot Noir 0,0% NV	France	Red	Still -> Dry
90	Silver	DIVIN	Sauvignon Blanc 0,0% NV	France	White	Still -> Dry
90	Silver	DIVIN	Vigneron Sauvignon Blanc 2023	France	White	Still -> Dry
90	Silver	Giesen Group	Vice By Giesen Sauvignon Blanc 2023	New Zealand	White	Still -> Medium
90	Silver	Torres Icons	Viña Sol Rosado 0.0 2024	Spain	Rosé	Still -> Medium
90	Silver	Terre Cevico	Zefiro Tutto È Possibile NV	Italy	White	Still -> Medium

Fruit Wines