Frequently Asked Questions
Are the wines you carry completely alcohol-free?
Yes. All our wines contain absolutely 0.0% alcohol volume, and all are 'Halal Certified'. That's why our wines can be enjoyed by alcohol-free people such us athletes, designated drivers, health conscious people or pregnant and nursing women without fear of harming the baby.
What’s the difference between Alcohol-free, non-alcoholic and dealcoholzsed?
All Zepeim wines meet U.S. government standards for non-alcoholic, Alcohol-free and dealcoholized beverages.
Below are a few terms and their definition based on the United States FDA department.
Alcohol-free
Contains absolutely zero (0.00%) alcohol by volume. Alcohol-free beverages are produced without any form of fermentation (or brewing). Often have preservatives added prior to bottling to ensure fermentation does not occur once stored.
Non-Alcoholic
The drink contains 0.5% or less alcohol by volume. Non-alcoholic beverages generally undergo some form of fermentation, however the alcohol content is kept at 0.5% or lower by either: a) halting the fermentation process early; b) mixing unfermented drink with fermented drink to the appropriate proportion; or c) removing any excess alcohol through a process known as dealcoholization.
Anything that can ferment produces alcohol as it ripens, and therefore a ripe grape, for instance, will contain alcohol. Some fresh orange and tomato juices are above the US 'non-alcoholic' limit of 0.5% Alc/Vol, as are some yoghurts and rye bread! An overripe banana can contain 1% alcohol and malt vinegar that you put on your salad is 0.2% Alc/Vol. Alcohol is also naturally created within the human body as part of the digestive process.
De-alcoholised
De-alcoholised beverages are fermented (such as when making wines) but have most of the alcohol removed prior to being pasteurised and bottled. De-alcoholised beverages generally have the same or similar depth and complexity of taste that fermented (brewed) drinks have, yet with very low alcohol content (less than 0.5% Alc/Vol).
How is the alcohol removed?
Alcohol is removed in the production stage using one of three different processes at cool temperatures to avoid damaging the wines. All the wines are ordinary alcoholic wines up to this point, so all the original characteristics are retained.
Steam Vacuum - The vaporisation temperature of alcohol is lower than that of other liquids so, under normal circumstances, it would be necessary to boil wine at high temperatures to steam off the alcohol so damaging the delicate flavors. This process is done in a vacuum where vaporisation can be achieved at much lower temperatures. The wine therefore looses its alcohol but retains the characteristics and flavors that would be lost with normal boiling.
Reverse Osmosis - forces the wine through a membrane (filter) to separate the alcohol from the rest of the wine.
Centrifugal Force - is used in some de-alcoholised wines to 'throw' the alcohol away from the wine through filters. This has to be repeated many times to reduce the alcohol molecules.
Halted fermentation - This system is more commonly used in beers. The mash is mixed and left to brew. The process is halted at the point just before the product reaches an alcoholic content of more than 0.0%.
What is Halal?
All the wines that we sell are Halal certified. But what does that mean?
The word ‘Halal’ (حلال) is an Arabic word which literally means permissible. And in translation it is usually used as lawful/allowed/acceptable and it’s a term which is applied to all aspects of life and covers not only food and drink, but also all matters of daily life.
When used in relation to food or drink, it means that the food/drink is lawful, allowed or permissible for Muslims, which guarantees to consumers that the wine contains no
forbidden components, like alcohol.
All Halal certified wines contain 0.0% alcohol by volume.
Halal certificates are issued, for a fee, by a certifying body.
Where do you distribute to?
We only distribute our products within the U.S.A. territory.
Is non-alcoholic wine healthier than regular wine?
Based on the researchers led by Gemma Chiva-Blanch of the University of Barcelona, yes.
METHODOLOGY: Researchers at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona instructed 67 men to drink either 10 ounces of red wine, 10 ounces of non-alcoholic red wine, or 3 ounces of gin every day for four weeks. At the end of the four weeks, each subject rotated to a different drink and repeated the process before switching again such that by the end of the study, all 67 men had been observed consuming all three drinks. Each study participant had either diabetes or at least three of the following risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a family history of heart disease, excessive weight or obesity, or smoking.
RESULTS: The non-alcoholic red wine was associated with a significant decrease in blood pressure, lowering heart disease risk by 14 percent and the risk of stroke by 20 percent. The alcoholic red wine, however, did not appear to have such effects.
CONCLUSION: Even though alcoholic and non-alcoholic red wine contain the same amount of heart-healthy antioxidants, the alcohol may be blocking the polyphenols from doing their protective work. Non-alcoholic red wine may therefore be more effective at protecting the heart.
IMPLICATION: Pairing antioxidants with alcohol appears counterproductive. If you were drinking red wine for the cardiovascular benefits, consider switching to non-alcoholic wine, or any of the multitude of other ways to get antioxidants.
SOURCE: The full study, "Dealcoholized Red Wine Decreases Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure and Increases Plasma Nitric Oxide," is published in the journal 'Circulation Research'.