Navarro Vineyards - 2014 Non-Alcoholic Wine-Grape Juices

2014 Non-Alcoholic Wine-Grape Juices

Tradition

We bottled our first grape juice in 1980, expecting to serve Gewürztraminer juice to our children as well as the kids accompanying their parents in Navarro's tasting room. Since we had no intentions of selling juice, less than fifty case were bottled using excess bottles that we hadn't already used for wine, in a various range of bottle styles with a hand printed label. The first restaurant customer for our Estate Bottled Gewürztraminer wine was Chez Panisse in Berkeley, which helped introduce Navarro to the many chefs who dine at this mecca of the local food movement. We decided to leave a bottle of Gewürz juice for their amusement. A few days later we returned to the winery, and to our amazement, Chez Panisse had already placed a large order for juice. We phoned Alice; she explained that when a group of four came into her restaurant, it was likely that one adult wasn't drinking wine.

We still make juice the same way as we did 35 years ago: squeeze fresh, top-quality wine grapes then immediately cold-filter the juice to prevent fermentation. Cold-filtering juice takes a lot of time but we didn't want to pasteurize the juice which would make it taste cooked.

Four generations of our family have enjoyed Navarro's non-alcoholic juices.

She refused to sell dealcoholized wine because it didn't taste good and Navarro's juices tasted fresh and remarkably similar to wine. We decided to produce and sell Gewürz juice the following vintage and, a few years later, added a red juice, Pinot Noir, providing a nice comparison for non-drinking adults, as well as children. We harvest the grapes at about the same level of ripeness as we would for sparkling wine; moderately sweet with plenty of acidity to keep it lively. Verjus is harvested earlier, following a medieval tradition of producing juice with lots of acidity and not much sweetness. It was traditionally used in cooking to replace lemons, but we also like to mix it with Gewürz juice and sparkling water. The Gewürz juice tastes like peach and tropical fruits, the Pinot of strawberry and rhubarb. $12.00

Navarro Grape Juice

Can you recommend non-alcoholic wines? My favorite are from Navarro Winery in Mendocino. They’re made directly from varietal grapes in the vineyard, so they taste just like the varietal. They taste like wine, but they have no alcohol. They press the grapes but don’t let it ferment. There are no additives, so it’s real pinot, real chardonnay. For people who never drink alcohol, or people who can’t at the moment (pregnant women, say) it’s a very good way to let them feel included, let them share..Sommelier Christopher Sawyer Press Democrate, December 20, 2011.

I don’t drink wine every single day-even a wine editor needs a break now and then-but I never get tired of the flavor of wine grapes. So today I had some non-fermented grape juice from the Navarro Vineyards Grape Juice Sampler (#59 for six bottles). Navarro makes its nonalcoholic Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir juices with the same grapes it uses for the wines. They’re excellent, plus you can have them at breakfast and feel like you ought to be checking into rehab. Food and Wine, March, 2011.

When I cater cocktail parties, I urge clients to include Navarro Vineyards' sublime sterile filtered Gewürztraminer grape juice. Folks flip! Through a family connection, I've been sipping Navarro juices and great wines since I first visited the Northern California winery 27 years ago. Straw color, silky, this Gewürtz tastes of lychee and rose. Some foodies call Navarro’s Gewürtz and Pinot Noir juices the only wine alternatives. Because they’re unfermented, they have zero alcohol, and they’re also great for kids—just don’t expect young tasters to go back to the cloying stuff that comes in little boxes.Nancy Weber, NYCityWoman.com, January 12, 2011.

We’ve tried high-end grape juices before- juices that are made with the same care, and from the same grapes, as wine. But there are more wineries out there that make wine-like grape juices, and we’re happy to report that there is an excellent alternative out there for people who want non-alcoholic drinks but appreciate wine. Navarro Vineyards makes 3 different varieties from California grapes- Pinot Noir, Verjus/Pinot, and Gewüztraminer- and each has a distinct flavor and color.

The Verjus was full-on tart, citrusy, tangy- almost a little too powerful, but somehow addictive. Tasters who weren't warned each puckered up at the first sip, but couldn't help drinking more. Navarro suggests freezing some and making ice cubes, and they proved to be a lot of fun. The Gewürztraminer was similarly powerful- but with sweetness instead. The flavor borders (and for some crosses over into) cloying, and we found it best crisp and quite cold, in small quantities. Kids definitely like it, and it’s a perfectly fresh beverage for the summer. Finally, the Pinot Noir is more smooth and balanced, a bit jammy, and good even without being chilled. It doesn't have much of the leathery taste or smell of some wines, nor did it have the full flavors of a fermented and oaked vintage, but it was something different- a grape juice we could feel properly snobbish about, beautiful bottles, natural cork, and all. $11 each, available online, along with their wide selection of wines. Greg May, www.trulyobscure.com,May 1, 2009.

The resulting juices are marvelously sweet, smooth beverages that can be enjoyed by both teetotalers and toddlers, with or without food. Out of the two offered varietals, the Gewürztraminer seems dryer with fruitier undertones, while the Pinot Noir seems more complex. Both are much sweeter and more luxurious than regular grape juices, and are best when served cold. - James Riswick, Novus Vinum, 2007.

(M)ore enjoyable facsimiles (of wine) are the unfermented, true-tasting grape juices (made with gewürztraminer or pinot noir grapes) bottled by Navarro Vineyards, which can be sipped on the rocks or with sparkling water. - Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, August 29, 2004.

Tra Vigne in Napa Valley, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Mélisse in Santa Monica and Napa Rose at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim all serve children the same Navarro juices that the French Laundry does.
This juice — in a real wine bottle, with a real cork and a real capsule is the same natural juice that, when fermented, becomes the winery's Gewürztraminer. After our experience at the French Laundry, I ordered six bottles of each and put them in my home cellar. Now Lucas can't wait for our next dinner party. He wants to see the look on our adult guests' faces when he whips out a corkscrew, opens one of the bottles and pours himself a glass of "wine." - David Shaw, Los Angeles Times, October 22, 2003.

Before harvest 1995, Navarro Vineyards received a call from Disney World. At lunch, the princess of Thailand liked the 1994 non-alcoholic Gewürztraminer juice and wanted it served for her father, the king. The question was, could Navarro get eight cases to Thailand by two days later, his birthday? The answer was, you betcha. Happy birthday, your majesty. - San Francisco Examiner, November 29, 1995.

Non-Alcoholic Options : For designated drivers and those who choose other beverage options, there are a number of juices and non-alcoholic alternatives (including) Navarro Vineyards Chardonnay Verjus, Gewürztraminer Grape Juice and Pinot Noir Grape Juice. - Gerald D. Boyd, San Francisco Chronicle, November 1, 2000.

Recent research shows that purple grape juice is as good as red wine at reducing the stickiness of blood platelets and at keeping heart attacks at bay--all without the alcohol. Purple grape juice contains flavonoids, chemicals that seem to have Aantiplatelet and, possibly, antioxidant properties," says John D. Folts, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin. He recommends drinking a glass every day. Good news for gourmets: Some California vineyards, such as Navarro Vineyards of Mendocino, are making grape juice from high-quality grapes. The result: a bottle of juice with a decidedly adult taste. - Robin Marantz Henig, New Woman Magazine, September, 1997.

Navarro knows juice, too.
Zowie. That was my reaction when I tasted Navarro Vineyards 1997 grape juice, made from Pinot Noir grapes. Creamy-textured and rich but not too sweet - Welch's this is not!
Tasting such a delicious juice made me wonder: given all the newly reported health benefits of drinking wine, where does grape juice stand? New research by University of California at Davis wine chemist Andrew Waterhouse shows that wine (particularly red wine) contains more key heart-friendly antioxidants than most fruits, fruit juices, and vegetable. Alas, grape juice has significantly lower levels of antioxidants than red wine-even a little less than white wine, for that matter. But then, Navarro's juice tastes so good, antioxidants really aren't the point. - Karen MacNeil, Sunset Magazine, February 1998.

Cheers to Navarro Vineyards of Mendocino for its non-alcoholic Gewürztraminer. There isn't any better and more taste worthy. - Wine Times, November 1990.

In the July 25 Potpourri, I suggested a cool summer drink called Tizziano, a blend of fresh-pressed grape juice and Franciacort Italian sparkling wine. A reader wrote to say that the Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur has an alcohol-free version of Tizziano. For his Navarro Pinot Noir juice spritzer, bartender Lair Hamilton mixes together 2 ½ ounces of Navarro Pinot Noir juice and 4 ounces of soda water, pours it over ice in a tall glass and tops the drink with a lemon twist. During harvest, Navarro Vineyards in Mendocino’s Anderson Valley bottles fresh-pressed Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer grape juices that are great to use for cooking and making summer coolers. - Gerald D. Boyd, San Francisco Chronicle, August 8, 2001.