St. Regis Sparkling Secco

St. Regis, a winemaker that sources grapes from high-quality vineyards around Europe, has made a name for themselves in the dealcoholized wine industry. And they are the only one that I have seen who has released a Sparkling Secco. By definition, Secco is a German wine that has been bubbled with its own carbon dioxide. It is technically a semi-sparkling wine. I have personally never had the opportunity to sample a variety such as this that has been dealcoholized. So despite the fact that I have had mixed results with the other St. Regis offerings that I have sampled, I am still excited to see what this bottle has in store. Keep reading my St. Regis Sparkling Secco review to find out how it stands up.

St. Regis Sparkling Secco Review

The first thing that is obvious when you see a bottle of this Secco is that is has all of the appearance of a traditional bottle of sparkling wine or champagne, cork and foil and all. Both the bottle and label are dark in color, the label a deep blue, evoking thoughts of a late-night celebration with the golden foil wrapped around the neck and cork.

There isn’t much else notable to the label and packaging of this sparkling Secco. It is rather simple in presentation, with a golden bird mid-flight located directly in the middle of the front label. Some wines contain a lot of tasting notes and other information on the back of the bottle, but no so here. We are informed that this wine contains just 80 calories per 12-ounce serving. This is around one-third of the calorie content that an alcoholized version contains.

The St. Regis website, however, explains that their dealcoholized wines are created through vacuum distillation, where an alcoholic wine is created and then the booze is removed after the fact. This potentially leads to losing some other important elements along with the alcohol, but we will hope that isn’t the case.

Poured into a glass, this wine is replete with fine bubbles all around the edges, top, and bottom. Even after the pour, this wine stays quite active, with carbonation bubbling to the surface consistently for a number of minutes. The color is essentially translucent and absent with just a hint of gold peeking through.

Aside from the bursting bubbles that tickle the nose, there are also strong fruit notes including the obvious grape and a bit of tart apple. Maybe even some melon running underneath. I don’t get a ton else on the nose, perhaps a little bit of spice. There is virtually no sweetness at all.

While presentation and aroma are, of course, important in the wine world, the only way to answer the question “Is St. Regis Sparkling Secco good?” is by putting the first sip to my lips. Let’s find out.

Is St. Regis Sparkling Secco Good?

I feel obligated to admit that sparkling wine is not something that I partake in frequently outside of an occasional wedding toast or the like. The main reason that I sometimes pass on it is because of how sugary it can often taste. I am so pleased to report that this low-calorie, zero-abv version has eliminated those syrupy characteristics and landed in a great place.

The green apple tartness comes through quite strongly, but I would definitely not say that it’s overpowering in any sense of the word. Mouthfeel is harder to discern in something this bubbly, but it ends up being light to medium.

There is a decent amount of acidity throughout, and the crisp finish is exactly what I am looking for in a beverage like this. Despite it lacking much sweetness, I wouldn’t say it has a dry character either, instead falling right down the middle. I found it tough to nail down any specific flavors aside from the tartness, but there are some faint floral notes and the smallest bit of spice that was also present on the nose.

Overall the flavor profile followed the nose pretty strictly. It managed to be pleasantly refreshing without any of that overwhelming sweetness that can be found in many sparkling wines. I have been very impressed by this non-alcoholic variation, and my St. Regis Sparkling Secco rating will be a high one. Finish reading to find out where it lands.

St. Regis Sparkling Secco Rating

It isn’t that I am incapable of enjoying a sparkling wine. It is just that most of my experience with it leading up to this tasting involved overly sweet variations that were designed to please a large celebratory crowd. Those types of wine can be fine for a sip or two, but if I want to enjoy more than a glass I need something that is a bit more refined and has some different characteristics. I didn’t expect to find all of that in a dealcoholized version, but this sparkling Secco legitimately impressed me.

It still has all of that refreshing personality that makes me immediately nostalgic for good times gone by and hopeful for those that will come again in the future. But it does all of this while leaning toward the tart rather than the sweet and still staying eminently drinkable. Considering this beverage is very much not up my alley, it is a bit of a surprise, even to me, that I am wrapping up this St. Regis Sparkling Secco review by giving it my highest possible grade, a full 5 out of 5 stars. Think about going this direction the next time you need to make a toast.

Photo Credit: https://www.totalwine.com/