In addition to regular rosé, there now seems to be a rosé-version of nearly every different type of alcoholic beverage out there: rosé vodka, rosé tequila, rosé gin, and rosé cider. At this point, rosé liquor is old news. Recently, however, we were surprised by a new kind of rosé drink. Welch's, the brand that's known for its grape juice and gummies, just introduced what is presumably the first-ever non-alcoholic rosé.
If it just crossed your mind that the most fun thing about rosé is its alcohol content and therefore a non-alcoholic rosé is pointless, we get where you're coming from. But, let's not forget that, for better or for worse, the trend has been adapted into many different foods that don't contain alcohol. Over the past several years, we've seen rosé doughnuts, rosé chocolate, rosé jelly, and more, and none of those items have the ability to get you drunk. They were appealing for other reasons.
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For rosé wine enthusiasts, not comparing a non-alcoholic sparkling rosé to its boozy beverage counterpart is a challenge. We tried Welch's new "rosé," and to us, it tasted very similar to Welch's classic sparkling grape juice. Though it does contain less sugar the classic, the new rosé drink is still quite sweet. There's also a hint of tartness. The non-alcoholic fizzy, fruity drink tastes delicious, but it doesn't taste like rosé.
Welch's new non-alcoholic sparkling rosé may not taste like wine, but it does have a similar appeal. The drink itself is a vibrant pink color, and it comes in a glass bottle with a cute label and silver foil wrapper. That's no coincidence either. In the product's official press release, the brand said, "Designed to capitalize on the 'Rosé All Day' wine trend, Welch’s Sparkling Rosé has a beautiful distinctive pink color and a light, refreshing taste that fits into the non-alcoholic lifestyle that spans all ages." For certain occasions, like a baby shower, a non-alcoholic version of rosé could be the perfect beverage solution. Because it is named after (and looks like) wine we could also see the new nonalcoholic drink causing some tension amongst parents.
Since its color seems to be such an important selling point for this new non-alcoholic sparkling rosé, we reached out to Welch's to see how it mimicked that rosé shade so precisely. "Green Niagara grapes account for the crisp taste and a majority of the juice content and are balanced with deep purple Concord grapes to achieve the distinctive pink color that consumers associate with Rosé," Matt Smokler, Welch's associate brand manager, told Refinery29. Despite the fact that Welch's new sparkling rosé contains absolutely no booze, one could argue that it's more similar to rosé wine than many of the rosé-versions of those other alcoholic beverages since it actually gets its color from grape skins.