Sparkling Fruit Wine

Fruchtsecco is, at nur Gutes, juice that sparkles

At nur Gutes, Fruchtsecco brings together sparkling fruit-based beverages that have never fermented. This includes orchard fruit cuvées from the Swabian Alb and the Saarland, grape Secco from Rheinhessen and the Kamptal, mountain apples from the Ritten, and apple and quince from the Lower Rhine. All are bottled as juice and only carbonated once inside, which is why every label is marked non-alcoholic.

Fruchtsecco is a sparkling fruit-based beverage, and the term refers to two very different things in the retail world. On supermarket shelves, it usually stands for an aromatized wine-based drink with about eight percent alcohol. At nur Gutes, the Fruchtsecco on the shelf is non-alcoholic because every bottle begins as juice and remains as juice. It is pressed from old varieties of apples and pears, grapes, quinces, and berries, bottled cold, and only then infused with carbonation.

Where the perlage comes from if nothing ferments

In sparkling wine (Sekt), alcohol and carbon dioxide are created during the same fermentation process; in this category of Fruchtsecco, the juice is bottled cold and only gains its carbonation in the bottle.

Where fermentation occurs, yeast converts fruit sugar into alcohol, which brings body, warmth, and structure to the glass. If that is missing, the fruit itself must provide it, which is why the producers turn to old varieties from traditional orchards, high-acidity grapes, and apples grown at high altitudes. The more acidity and tannins the fruit provides, the less the sweetness clings, and the longer the glass remains fresh, finely effervescent, and dry.

Two neighbors on the shelf work differently, and the distinction is worth noting. The Secco is a sparkling wine that has retained its alcohol, and non-alcoholic wine began as wine before the alcohol was removed under vacuum. Some aroma is lost with the alcohol, and the juice in this category avoids that detour.

From the Swabian Alb to the Kamptal

The bottles in this category come from a handful of producers between the Lower Rhine and South Tyrol, and each of them understands something different by Fruchtsecco.

The largest portion is provided by the Prisecco range from Manufaktur Jörg Geiger in Schlat at the foot of the Swabian Alb. It is composed of the juice of old apple and pear varieties, blended with herbs, blossoms, and spices. It features four classics: the straw-yellow Weißduftig with elderflower, the coral-pink Rosenzauber, the almost black Rotfruchtig, and the amber-colored Apfelsinfonie. Added to these are numbered cuvées, seasonal bottlings like the Mirabellengold, and a certified organic line.

From the Lower Rhine come the Frucht-Seccos from van Nahmen with champagne corks and clearly labeled fruit: Apple-Quince, Grape, Apple-Currant-Raspberry, and a deep-red cuvée of Bohnapfel, wild blueberry, and sour cherry. In the Saarland, there is "chirping"—which is the name of the non-alcoholic line from Pica Pica. Their Gezwitscher No 8 pairs quince, rhubarb, and black currant with orchard apples.

Two wineries bottle grapes without fermentation: Raumland in Rheinhessen with the Zerozzante made from Bacchus, and Fred Loimer in the Kamptal with his sparkling organic grape juice. The fruit line from von Wiesen in Bensheim pits blackberry leaf and apple against smoked salt lemon and barley malt. From the Ritten comes the Karlo Sparkling by Thomas Kohl, mountain apple with currant, elderflower, and a hint of hops.

Tart, juicy, or berry-forward, a question of the fruit

The most important decision is made between the fruits, as they determine how dry or sweet it will eventually taste in the glass.

Orchard fruit produces the tartest bottles because old apple and perry pear varieties provide acidity and tannins. Jörg Geiger often harvests before full ripeness to ensure less sweetness enters the glass. In the Aecht Bitter, yarrow and wormwood provide an opening reminiscent of a bitter aperitif. Grape turns out juicier and fruitier, but at Raumland, the crisp acidity of the Bacchus counteracts this, and at Loimer, Muskateller and Danube Riesling suggest green apple and yellow peach.

Things turn dark and berry-like with blueberry, sour cherry, and black currant, for example in the red cuvée from van Nahmen or the Rotfruchtig. If you like it dry, you will find a glass at von Wiesen with the tannins of a long-steeped black tea. The organic seal is carried by, among others, the organic range of Priseccos, the Apple-Quince from van Nahmen, and the grape juice from Loimer; for all others, the product page will provide the information.

Jörg in Schlat, Peter on the Lower Rhine, Volker in Rheinhessen

Behind these bottles are people who keep orchards and old varieties alive because they pay above-market prices for their fruit.

Jörg Geiger is a trained chef and took over his parents' inn, the Lamm, in Schlat. There, he lacked a beverage for guests who didn't drink alcohol that could still hold its own at the table. In 1998, he turned the harvest of five old pear trees into sparkling wine, and in 2003, the Rotfruchtig was born as a stopgap measure because the intended pear did not bear fruit that year.

Today, the Manufaktur Jörg Geiger processes fruit from over 20,000 standard trees. A newly planted standard tree takes twenty years before it bears significant fruit. Peter van Nahmen runs the juice press in Hamminkeln in the fourth generation, which began in 1917 as an apple butter factory. Since 1994, the house has paid a premium for fruit from standard trees in an agreement with NABU to ensure the orchards of contract farmers remain standing.

Volker Raumland developed the Zerozzante for his daughters Katharina and Marie-Luise so that no one at the family table would have to sit with a diluted juice spritzer; today, the two lead the Sekthaus Raumland. In the Saarland, Michael Müller, Jana Götz, and Philipp Stute buy the fruit for their "Gezwitscher" from families along the Viezstraße and in the St. Wendeler Land whose orchards would otherwise go wild.

"People always say we need to protect the rainforest. But these orchards are Germany's rainforest," says Philipp. And on the Ritten, Thomas Kohl named his Karlo after his father Karl, who never drank alcohol in his life.

Well-chilled into a white wine glass, then to the table

Fruchtsecco is served well-chilled at six to ten degrees in a white wine glass or a thin-stemmed glass that keeps the juice from warming up. In a narrow flute, the fruit remains trapped beneath the carbonation.

At the table, a glass of it goes further than you might expect from a juice. The Weißduftig pairs with goat cheese with rosemary and honey, the Apple-Quince from van Nahmen with crustaceans and tarte tatin, and the Zerozzante with pan-seared fish. For braised vegetables and dark meat, the cherry acidity of the red cuvée from van Nahmen stands up to the fat. The Gezwitscher No 8 accompanies plum tart, and the blackberry leaves from von Wiesen respond to pan-fried chanterelles.

Once opened, the bottle belongs in the refrigerator and should be consumed within a few days; after that, the perlage fades. Unopened, it prefers a cool, dark place. If you continue your alcohol-free evening, you will find lemonade, syrup, and kombucha right next door in our non-alcoholic beverages.

New Year's Eve, weddings, and the Tuesday in between

Sparkling juice solves an old problem at the table, because those who do not want alcohol can toast with the same glass as everyone else.

At midnight on New Year's Eve, it stands next to the sparkling wine; at the wedding table, next to the wine. Because many bottles come with champagne corks and wire cages, no one has to explain what they are drinking. The Tuesday in between is its true occasion: a glass after work or an aperitif before dinner.

It is easy to give as a gift because not everyone knows it yet. The Prisecco gift set with two classics works well as a small gesture, the tasting pack puts the whole range on the table, and more ideas can be found under our gifts. Browse through the bottles, open the first one cold, and let the cork pop.