Northern Ohio Wine Guild: Going dry in January

By Mary Malik

Have you thought about a New Year’s resolution yet?

It’s getting to be that time of year and if you feel you’ve overindulged during the holidays and want to give your liver a break, or you just want to challenge yourself, you may be thinking of giving the popular “Dry January” a try.

“Some people decide that January is a good time to ‘detox’ after weeks of celebrating,” says Jim Sperk of the Northern Ohio Wine Guild. “The ‘Dry January’ challenge began in the United Kingdom in 2013 as a public health campaign. The concept has now spread to many other countries over the past ten years and in 2021, about 20% of Americans accepted the challenge.”

For wine drinkers who consider a glass of wine with dinner as “just a part of the meal,” 31 days without that nightly glass might be difficult. Choosing non-alcoholic and alcohol-free wines to accompany meals might be a good way to get through it.

“Although this might be considered cheating a bit by some, these wines are made with less than 0.5% alcohol,” says Jim. “This amount is a hardly noticeable, but the real question is—how do they taste and is it anything like their alcoholic counterparts?” Jim says the answer is a very ambiguous “yes, and no.” While most of them express the same fruit flavors and profiles, the one thing missing is the taste of the alcohol.

“For the most part, many wine drinkers could be content substituting a non-alcoholic wine for their favorites for just one month,” says Jim. “It’s only one month, right?”

Consider giving it a try, and next month, Jim will explore the rules and regulations regarding the buying and selling of non-alcoholic beverages. Spoiler alert—they are very confusing.

For information on the Northern Ohio Wine Guild, contact Jim Sperk at tinymoonwines@usa.net.