Non-alcoholic beverages that pair with food

Non-alcoholic beverages are defined in Germany as drinks with less than 0.5% ABV, ranging from apple juice to dealcoholized wine. This category is about more than just quenching thirst: most bottles are intended as accompaniments to meals or as aperitifs, featuring the acidity, tannins, and spice you are otherwise accustomed to from wine. In addition to single-varietal juices, you will find sparkling compositions made from fruit, herbs, and tea.

Four types of non-alcoholic beverages at a glance

Direct juice and nectar

Direct juice is bottled immediately after pressing without being turned into concentrate, while nectar mixes fruit pulp with water and usually sugar. The South Tyrolean mountain apple juices from Kohl are naturally cloudy, single-varietal direct juices, ranging from the mild Jonagold to the red-fleshed Rouge. Van Nahmen presses sour cherry, Stromberg plum, or pomegranate as direct juice and creates nectars from rhubarb, quince, apricot, or black currant with a specified fruit content.

PriSecco, cuvées, and fruit secco

The PriSecco by Jörg Geiger is a sparkling composition made from apple and pear juice with additional juices, herbs, and spices, at 0.0% ABV. The numbered cuvées work in a similar way, but include ingredients such as oak leaves, coffee, Darjeeling, or roasted hulless barley. Those looking for non-alcoholic sparkling wine will find a standalone alternative for the champagne flute here, as they will with the fruit seccos from van Nahmen, which contain 0% alcohol according to the manufacturer.

Dealcoholized wine

What is often sought as non-alcoholic wine is known under EU law as dealcoholized wine: wine from which the alcohol has been removed down to a maximum of 0.5% ABV. In the Gradwanderung line, Jörg Geiger gently dealcoholizes the wine at 32 to 37 °C and adds juices, herbs, and blossoms so that body and aroma return. This results in still white and red wine alternatives under 0.5% ABV, as well as sparkling ones like the bottle-fermented Blanc de Blanc.

Aperitif and bitters

Tart and spicy aperitifs like the Pomp varieties from DR. HÖHL'S or the Aecht Bitter from Jörg Geiger rely on gooseberry, cucumber, wormwood, or cinchona bark and are served well-chilled before a meal; the Pomp Feinherb is best enjoyed on ice with a slice of cucumber. Coming from the same direction are two sparkling organic long drinks from Jörg Geiger: the Dzin Bitter with apple and cucumber juice, juniper, and meadowsweet, and the Aecht Kimmel made from pear juice with caraway and dill.

The producers behind our non-alcoholic beverages

The majority comes from the Manufaktur Jörg Geiger in Schlat on the Swabian Jura. Very popular are the PriSecco Weißduftig with notes of elderflower and the PriSecco Rotfruchtig based on the original 2003 recipe. The Bio Weiß combines apple juice with unripe-harvested Riesling grapes and white tea, while the Gradwanderung 32 Grad Riesling is a still, dry companion to fish.

Our top seller is the Morellenfeuer Sour Cherry Juice from van Nahmen in Hamminkeln on the Lower Rhine, made from a single variety of cherries from small farmers in the Aachen region. The juice press also bottles Organic Apple Juice from Orchard Meadows from trees up to 80 years old. Kohl Mountain Apple Juice from Unterinn in Ritten grows its apples at nearly 1,000 meters, such as for the Mountain Apple Juice Pinova with notes of white peach.

DR. HÖHL'S from Maintal near Frankfurt mixes juices with 21 botanicals for the Pomp Bio Aperitif Feinherb, also available in a piccolo size for exactly one glass. From Dr. Jaglas in Berlin come pre-mixed spritz variants, from Wajos a peach secco based on dealcoholized wine, and from the Feinbrennerei Sasse the juniper concentrate Junipaero.

How non-alcoholic beverages pair with your food

Think when pouring just as you would with a wine pairing: light with light, bold with bold. Cuvée No. 23 with rhubarb pairs well with asparagus and strawberry salad, while the fresh Cuvée No. 8 goes perfectly with salmon or shrimp. Serve the sour cherry juice or the Stromberg plum at cellar temperature with roulades, lasagna, or roast goose. Game and lamb can handle the dark Cuvée No. 10 or a dealcoholized red wine like Edition Lamothe. When it comes to cheese, contrasts are worthwhile: Fruit Secco Grape or Cuvée No. 29 with blue cheese, or Mountain Apple Juice Rubinette with goat cheese. The spicy Aecht Kimmel goes well with Maultaschen or stuffed cabbage. In winter, warm the winter cuvée to 55–60 °C and drink it from a mug.

Shopping and storage

• For sampling: The PriSecco tasting pack and the pack featuring organic classics each contain six bottles in different varieties.
• Seasonal fillings: Frühlingsduft and Mirabellengold are only available while supplies last.
• Watch for allergens: Bio Cuvée 21 and 28 contain gluten, the Apfelsinfonie contains mustard; many wine-based drinks contain sulfites.
• Store in a cool, dark place: Once opened, juices should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed within a few days; seal sparkling drinks tightly.

More from our beverages

You can find all beverages in the Beverages category. For non-alcoholic long drinks and spritz, check out our non-alcoholic spirits, where you will find gin alternatives and aperitifs for mixing with tonic. Under Glassware & Bar Accessories, you will find glass dispensers and Erlenmeyer flasks for self-mixed tonic.

Order non-alcoholic beverages online

Whether it's Sunday lunch with the family, a garden party, or an evening where you need to drive: order non-alcoholic beverages online at Leni & Hans, and your package will be with you in 1–3 days.