I have friends who will have a baby soon, and I wanted to get them a nice bottle of champagne after he’s born. Then I remembered they don’t drink. The only comparable non-alcoholic drinks I can think of are spakling ciders, but they seem too plain and common for a special occasion. Are there any high quality (and price) sparkling ciders, nonalcoholic wines, etc.?
Would this do?
http://www.martinellis.com/store/products/spvarpk.shtml
I went to high school right across the street from their plant.
I came in here to recommend Martinelli’s too. It’s not expensive (around here, less than $3 a bottle) but very tasty and very unlike those horrid Welch’s sparkling juices or whatever. A nondrinking friend turned us on to Martinelli’s, and she happily accepts a glass when the rest of us are drinking champagne. Also fun for the kids when they’d like some pretend champagne.
The regular sparkling cider and the apple-cranberry are both very nice, and pretty in a glass.
I’m not aware of any high end sparkling ciders. While Martinelli’s is a nice product, it’s not “high end”, most grocery stores have an end cap full of the stuff around Thanksgiving. Fun for the holidays, but not exactly a gift in and of itself.
For non-alcoholic wines, I know Sutter Home makes a line called Fre, and Ariel also makes non alcoholic sparkling wine, but I’d hesitate to consider them much higher end than Martinelli’s, they seem to top out at <$10/bottle.
Online, I see a bunch of people doing gift baskets with non alcoholic champagne, which might be a nice option.
Hie thee to the nearest Trader Joe’s- they have an excellent selection of standard and unusual sparkling juices, including peach, apple, pear, pomegranate, blood orange and others.
Very yummy and very reasonably priced.
Yup, Trader Joe’s has a wonderful variety (and not just apple cider – there’s sparkling pomegranate, blueberry, etc.).
Sonoma Sparklers are delicious. I can find them in just about every gourmet market here, but they are a local product. (Store Locator)
I’ve tried every flavor , every one is wonderful, but I think my faves are the Organic Lemonade and Natural Pear.
If you don’t care if it’s actually cider - IZZE makes a yummy line of sparkling juices. The sparkling grapefruit is one of my favorite breakfast drinks.
And Grown Up Sodas are awesome too. The Dry Meyer Lemon and Dry Cranberry Lime are my favorites.
And if you don’t care if it’s sparkling, Navarro Vineyards make juices out of their Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer grapes. But be warned, these are *incredibly *sweet.
I’d say EJ got it, but Trader Joe’s is not everything (but go there if there’s one near!). Wine stores - the snobby kind - have stuff in languages you can’t understand, from places that may not exist. DEElish.
Smiles to your friends. And you.