Hit or fizz? The first verdict on Heaps Normal’s first non-alcoholic sparkling wine

Stop press. I’ve got exciting news. We finally have an Australian-made non-alcoholic ‘wine’ that tastes like wine. Surprisingly, it took a beer brewer to nail it.

I had high but cautious expectations when I caught wind that Sydney-based non-alc beer gurus Heaps Normal were releasing a High Hopes Prosecco.

Since launching in July 2020, co-founder Ben Holdstock and his team raised the non-alc bar with their XPA, IPA, Lager, and Stout. But wine is a different beast.

Globally, few get it right, and the reason is simple. Alcohol literally brings a lot to the table. It provides mouthfeel and texture, palate weight, a warming sensation or heat, and psychological effects.

“When you take the ethanol out of wine, you lose a lot,” says Dr Wes Pearson, research scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI).

“Ethanol is a very unique compound, and there really isn’t much else like it chemically. When you remove that from wine, you’re left with something that is thin and acidic, has a watery feel and no longer resembles any concept of traditional wine.”

So how did a self-proclaimed disruptive business with a non-alc beer background like Heaps Normal crack the code? Lots of research.

The sparkling wine took 18 months to develop, in collaboration with the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), and is made with 100 per cent grapes sourced from Hilltops in NSW. Throughout the process, Heaps Normal head of wine, Ned Brooks, engaged with winemakers, bartenders and organic chemists at the AWRI’s No-Low Wine Research Centre.

“I did a bit of a deep dive into the category and tasted a lot,” Brooks says. “It always felt like people were making non-alcoholic wines just to fill a category in their range. There weren’t many who were actually trying to build a drink that was worthy of drinking.”

While Australia has some impressive NoLo wine alternatives, the stuff made with grapes didn’t really cut it.

“In Australia, it felt like there was a method and no one really deviated from the method which was de-alkalise, add grape concentrate, add flavours, add colours, and add thickener,” Brooks says.

“It seemed as if it was a bit of an easy answer, and no one was really willing to think outside the box and try and see what else they could come up with.”

There are some exceptions.

“Edenvale is exclusively a non-alcoholic wine producer, and there are a number of German, American and French producers that are exclusively non-alcoholic as well.”

Dr Pearson said Heaps Normal’s approach to product development was “very clever”.

“I think they have the benefit of creating products in this space without what I would almost call the ‘burden’ of having a wine background,” he says.

“As a beer company, they aren’t obliged to make a product that is a replacement product for traditional wine, as their customers aren’t traditional wine drinkers. They just have to make a product that tastes good, and works for the occasions that their non-alc beer products are being consumed at.”

The wine is produced in-house.

“In this instance, it was basically rethinking the whole process,” Brooks says. Not just the alkalization side, but even the harvest, the grape variety, when we’re picking [the grapes] and what we’re achieving in each step in the winemaking process, as opposed to it being an afterthought.”

“I thought, ‘Can I make something that’s dry – kind of an aperitif style that’s going to suit somebody who wants to have it with oysters, rather than something that feels like sweet green bubbles?’”

Ned Brooks, Heaps Normal head of wine

Brooks’ wine background includes working in wineries, hospitality, retail and wholesale. He wanted to make something that worked as a standalone drink as well as with food.

“Prosecco as a category is so broad in the styles,” he says. “I thought, ‘Can I make something that’s dry – kind of an aperitif style that is going to suit somebody who wants to have it with oysters, rather than something that feels like sweet green bubbles?’”

As for what’s next for Heaps Normal, there are positive signs for those thirsty for a new, non-alc still wine option, too.

“We’re currently working through the process of research and development on a still product”, says Brooks. “I don’t really have a date or anything like that, but we are trying to figure that out.”

The verdict

My verdict on the Heaps Normal High Hopes Prosecco? It’s excellent. Smashing, even. It actually tastes like Prosecco. There are lashings of lemon, life-affirming fizz, head-snapping acidic twang, depth of flavour, and bubbles that last the distance.

Blindfolded, I’d say it was a traditional Prosecco. Best of all, I had it with breakfast this morning and can drive to work clear-headed. Winning.