Castillo de Salobrena

Wine

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Red Wine Alternative
Winered wine

Red Wine Alternative

A Spanish soft drink dressed up as red wine, made from apple juice concentrate and grape colouring rather than dealcoholised grapes.

About This Drink

Castillo de Salobreña has been made by Industrias Espadafor in Granada since 1978 — long before the current wave of AF drinks — and it shows. This is not a dealcoholised wine. It is a non-alcoholic fruit drink built from water, apple juice concentrate (1.9%), sugars, sweeteners, and grape-red colouring, designed to sit in a wine glass and vaguely suggest the real thing. It does the job within its own narrow ambition. The flavour is sweet and dark-fruited — blackcurrant and grape upfront, a faint apple note underneath, with citric acid keeping it from becoming too syrupy. Serve it cold, around 10-12°C, and it works reasonably well as an aperitif or a table companion if you just want something in a wine glass that isn't water. Where it falls short is the texture. Modern dealcoholised wines have made serious strides in body and mouthfeel; this has neither. It is thin in the way that squash is thin. If you know what you're getting — a flavoured soft drink from a warm Spanish summer tradition rather than a wine equivalent — Castillo de Salobreña is perfectly pleasant. Go in expecting wine and you will be disappointed.

Ingredients

Water, sugars, acidulants (citric acid, malic acid E-296), apple juice (from 1.9% concentrate), preservatives (E-202, E-211), sweeteners (E-952, E-954), apple flavour, colour (E-122, E-150D)

Key Specs

Per 100ml

Calories
16 kcal
Sugar
3.0g
Carbs
4.0g

Dietary

GLUTEN-FREE

Serving

Size
125ml
Temp
10-14°C

Tasting Notes

Taste

SWEET DARK FRUIT UPFRONT — BLACKCURRANT AND GRAPE WITH A MILD TANG FROM CITRIC ACID. APPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE ADDS A FAINT ORCHARD NOTE UNDERNEATH. SWEETENERS KEEP THE FINISH CLEAN RATHER THAN CLOYING BUT THIS READS FIRMLY AS A SWEET SOFT DRINK RATHER THAN A WINE SUBSTITUTE.

Aroma

LIGHT GRAPE AND BLACKCURRANT ON THE NOSE WITH A FAINT APPLE JUICE BACKDROP. NOTHING COMPLEX — IT SMELLS MORE LIKE A FRUIT CORDIAL THAN WINE.

Character

Appearance
DEEP RUBY-RED OPAQUE.
Mouthfeel
LIGHT-BODIED AND STILL. THIN ON THE PALATE.
Finish
SHORT AND CLEAN WITH RESIDUAL SWEETNESS.

Production

Soft drink produced from water, apple juice concentrate, and grape colouring. Not dealcoholised wine — a non-alcoholic fruit drink formulated to resemble red wine in colour and broad flavour.

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Key Specs

Per 100ml

Calories
16 kcal
Sugar
3.0g
Carbs
4.0g

Dietary

GLUTEN-FREE

Serving

Size
125ml
Temp
10-14°C

Tasting Notes

Taste

SWEET DARK FRUIT UPFRONT — BLACKCURRANT AND GRAPE WITH A MILD TANG FROM CITRIC ACID. APPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE ADDS A FAINT ORCHARD NOTE UNDERNEATH. SWEETENERS KEEP THE FINISH CLEAN RATHER THAN CLOYING BUT THIS READS FIRMLY AS A SWEET SOFT DRINK RATHER THAN A WINE SUBSTITUTE.

Aroma

LIGHT GRAPE AND BLACKCURRANT ON THE NOSE WITH A FAINT APPLE JUICE BACKDROP. NOTHING COMPLEX — IT SMELLS MORE LIKE A FRUIT CORDIAL THAN WINE.

Character

Appearance
DEEP RUBY-RED OPAQUE.
Mouthfeel
LIGHT-BODIED AND STILL. THIN ON THE PALATE.
Finish
SHORT AND CLEAN WITH RESIDUAL SWEETNESS.

Production

Soft drink produced from water, apple juice concentrate, and grape colouring. Not dealcoholised wine — a non-alcoholic fruit drink formulated to resemble red wine in colour and broad flavour.