Twitter No. 10 – alcohol-free

Gezwitscher No 10 brings the gooseberry back into the glass

Gezwitscher No 10 is a non-alcoholic Secco from the Saarland region, pressed from old apple varieties, gooseberry, and grape, seasoned with lemon verbena and meadowsweet. Produced without fermentation, vegan, allergen-free, with 0.0% alcohol.

Gezwitscher No 10 is the non-alcoholic Secco that Pica Pica crafts from the fruit of Saarland meadow orchards. The flavor profile is defined by the gooseberry—the fruit that once hung on every garden fence and is now rarely planted. Apple and grape provide a foundation, a herbal infusion gives it a lift, and the 0.75-l bottle is sealed with a natural cork under a wire hood.

The forgotten fruit from the garden fence

The gooseberry brings a bright, almost green acidity that keeps the apple lively and keeps the Secco from becoming too sweet.

There was a time when every second garden had a gooseberry bush—thorny, difficult to pick, and full of hairy spheres in June. Then it disappeared from gardens, and today you have to search for it. It has survived in the old meadows of the Saarland.

Added to this are lemon verbena and meadowsweet, two herbs with their own distinct characters. The verbena smells like lemon but without the sharpness, and the meadowsweet like almond and honey—in the Middle Ages, it was used to spice mead, which is why it is still known as "meadwort" in English today. Together, they lay a delicate trail of herbs beneath the fruit, which is precisely what turns a juice into an evening beverage.

Chilled with trout, summer salad, and rhubarb cake

Pour No 10 into a glass at eight to ten degrees Celsius; cold enough for the acidity of the gooseberry and warm enough for the herbs to come through.

Cured trout pairs well with it, as does a summer salad with melon and mint, and a piece of rhubarb cake in the afternoon finds the right partner in it. Where a juice would be too heavy and water too simple, this Secco hits the perfect middle ground.

There are those evenings when someone at the table doesn't want to drink or isn't allowed to, while everyone else reaches for a bottle. With Gezwitscher, that difference disappears because this glass also has a story to tell. Further sparkling companions can be found in our Fruit Seccos.

In the Saarland, apple in a glass has long been called Viez

The Saarland has been drinking its apple for over 2,000 years, and the drink is still called "Viez" there to this day—a name derived from the Latin "vice vinum," or "substitute for wine."

Along the "Viezstraße" (Viez Road) are the meadow orchards from which Michael, Jana, and Philipp source their fruit. The beautiful irony is that something is now being created from this that contains no alcohol at all, yet still earns its place in a heavy bottle with a wire hood. The substitute wine has made it to the status of an aperitif.

Nothing is fermented for the Gezwitscher; the carbonation is added to the finished juice. If any tartrate settles at the bottom of the bottle, those are natural crystals from the fruit—just leave the last sip in the glass. For those who prefer it fruitier and darker, you will find its sibling with quince and blackcurrant in Gezwitscher No 8, and the entire Pica Pica range is available in the shop. Finally, one that manages without.