The Alcohol Removed Wines of Starla

I hope everyone’s New Year is off to a strong start.  This month our wine writer’s group is highlighting various wine topics of interest to start off the year.  I had yet to write about some wines I had tried that had the alcohol removed.  I know for some, January, also called “dry January”, is a challenge to refrain from drinking alcohol for the month.  With all the media focus on whether or not alcohol and wine are healthy for one’s lifestyle, I figured it was the perfect time to at least broach the topic and share these wines with you for those that want something different or a change in lifestyle. 

Personally, I have never celebrated dry January.  I have lived my life by enjoying everything in moderation.   For those that want to take on the challenge whether it’s temporary or for a complete lifestyle change I respect anyone making those efforts and decisions for themselves.   

Just like non-alcoholic wines or boxed wines, it tends to be a challenge to find ones that are really worth the purchase.  I sampled a few wines from the Starla brand that gave me a different perspective on drinks that are non-alcoholic. They would be a suggestion for those looking to remove alcohol from their lifestyle or even just to take a break for bit, but still enjoy some of the aspects of drinking wine.  

About Starla wines 

Dawn Maire, the brain behind Starla wines, was looking to create a wine beverage that aligned with a healthier lifestyle.  She partnered with the other founder, Jamie Coulter, to create Starla, a brand that represents the “inner star in all of us” to show consumers “how luminous your life can be without alcohol”. 

Starla wines take an untraditional approach to winemaking.  These wines are dealcoholized wines with natural botanicals added, inspired by Dawn’s herbal garden.  The wines showcase a feminine style with a fashionable image. 

The Starla wines are full fermented wines that have the alcohol removed via a vacuum process, which typically removes the body and flavor from a wine.  With the added botanicals it adds another dimension to these wines.   

The wines 

Although all the wines I tried were not my favorite, I thought the sparkling rosè was a close contender for my sparkling wine lovers. Plus, I love their packaging.

The Starla wines have no additional sugars and are low carb, low calorie and low sugar wines.  With the alcohol removed there is less than .5% alcohol in a glass, no different than a kombucha some may be familiar with. 

The Starla Sparkling Rosè is made from a blend of Zinfandel, French Colombard, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir grapes with gardenia and strawberry blossom botanicals.  A 5 ounce glass is only 5 calories.  Salmon color with orange highlights this wine had a fizzy bubbles with floral aromatics.  Light with the bubbles tingling the palate.  It’s fruity with notes of sweet, juicy strawberries.   If you like sweeter wines and sparkling wines this may be the wine for you to try. 

Personally I did not enjoy the Starla Sauvignon Blanc as I thought the botanicals were too heavy and the wine was flat.  The Starla Red Blend, made by the Barbera and Ruby Cabernet grapes and French lavender and thyme botanicals, was just ok.  Herbal and jammy aromatics that carried to the palate with blackberry and thyme notes.  For me I think the botanicals were a little heavier to my liking and I miss the acidity backbone. I could see this wine making a great sangria as suggested by wine friend, Jamie Evans, founder of the Herb Somm!

It seems you can purchase these Starla bottles direct through Target and maybe some other sources, but not through their website strangely.  It’s worth exploring if you’re trying to break away from alcohol while still enjoying the elements that wine brings to one’s life.  

What  is your take on non-alcoholic wines? Have you found any personal favorites?  Do you participate in dry January and what are your thoughts on wine affecting one's health? Leave a comment and let's chat.

Join the rest of our food and wine writers articles this month on a variety of topics. 

• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares "Wine and Food Pairings – exploring the logic and the science"
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares "Celebrating the New Year the Armenian Way: Ghapama and Lamb Kebabs Paired with Areni Wine from Yacoubian-Hobbs"
• Andrea at The Quirky Cork shares "Albania: A New Wine Frontier"
• Camilla at Culinary Cam shares "Xers to Zoomers: Exploring the Decline in Wine Consumption + Our Thanksgiving Wines from Tablas Creek"
• Terri at Our Good Life shares "The Unveiling of Red Wine's Hidden Health Benefits and the Surgeon General's No-Alcohol Stance"
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares "Exploring a Dealcoholized Wine"
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares "What's all the hubbub about non-alcoholic wine?"
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares "Hot Topics: A Zero Alcohol Primer"

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Top Italian Wine Blogs of 2024

As we say goodbye to 2024 I always like to reflect on what I have accomplished over the past year and to thank my readers for following me on my 11th year of blogging.  Although finding the time to continue to keep myself abreast on the world of Italian wines to share with you all still poses to be a challenge with a young family, I'm committed to always provide the most engaging and informational material to share with you all.  

In 2025 I look forward to hopefully sharing more Italian wine and food pairings and investing more time to do what I love, drinking great Italian wines and cooking.  I may even tackle a website redesign on my own, but I'm not that tech savvy so we will see.  I'm also looking to engage more with the many winery consortiums across Italy to get some great insight into these regions via interviews, etc so if you're a producer or member of the Consorzio don't hesitate to reach out.

Let's take a look at my top 5 performing blogs of 2024!

1) Italian Wine and Cheese Pairings

2) The Historic Coppo Winery of Piedmont and their UNESCO Underground Wine Cellars 

3) "Stone of the Fairy" with Tenuta Licinia's Sasso di Fata Wines

4) Chicken and Shrimp Skewers with Poggio della Dogana Romagna Albana 

5) Italian Wines Paired with BBQ 

Thank you again for all your support of Vino Travels and here is to a healthy 2025!  Cin cin!

From my family to yours, Happy New Year!

If you'd like to support Vino Travels, please consider making a purchase at Wine.com.  Vino Travels may receive compensation for any purchases made to support the operations of this website.

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Abruzzo's great white: Pecorino d'Abruzzo

Back in October I attended a class and wine tasting of Pecorino d’Abruzzo led by Jeremy Parzen of Do Bianchi and hosted by the Consorzio Tutela Vini d’Abruzzo.  It’s been nice to see this wine get some recognition in the market in recent years since it’s a wine that deserves a seat at the table, especially if you’re a white wine lover.   

The Abruzzo wine region

Abruzzo is located in central Italy and is only about 60 miles northeast of Rome through the mountains.  This region is uniquely situated with close proximity to the Adriatic Sea and some of the highest peaks in Europe including the Gran Sasso, the highest peak of the Apennines. 

Jeremy Parzen

The Abruzzo wine region is mostly made up of organic farming.  For the farmers of this region it is a way of life and not just a marketing lure.  They believe in expressing the purity of the environment through the farming methods.  In Abruzzo there are many wine cooperatives with brands like Citra and Frontana being some of the larger producers.  Some may turn their nose to coops, but what you have to remember is that these coops create a sense of community and are made up of small families that own small parcels of land that they tend to that band together to create these wines as a representation of Abruzzo wine. 

Abruzzo is mostly know for its red wine, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, but there are so many other great wines of the region to enjoy including it’s rosè, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, and another white, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.  The Trebbiano of Abruzzo is similar to the Trebbiano of Tuscany, although in Abruzzo, this grape is richer and more mineral driven as Jeremy describes.  Then there is the other white grape of Abruzzo, Pecorino.  Let's learn more.  

The Pecorino grape 

I believe the Pecorino name tends to catch ones eye because if you’re like me it’s one of my favorite cheeses, if not my most favorite cheese.  Although this grape has nothing to do with pecorino cheese.  It’s believed that this grape got its name from the transumanza, which was a migration of the sheep from the mountains to the valleys.  Along the way the shephards ate the Pecorino grapes that were growing wild.   

Pecorino’s homeland is in the L’Aquila province in the northwestern part of Abruzzo.  This area is a very rugged, mountainous terrain of Abruzzo and the Pecorino grape loves elevation.  There has also been an increase in producers seeking land and planting in the mountains due to climate change so maybe we will see more producers working with this grape to come in future years.

Pecorino is a grape that was forgotten until the 1980’s when producers in the Le Marche region, north of Abruzzo, began to reinvigorate this grape.  In Abruzzo, Luigi Cataldi Madonna is the first one to bring this grape to life within the region.  Luigi, winemaker and philosophy professor, believed that the world wanted more white wines.  He had found old Pecorino vines that he replanted. He is believed to be the first one to actually label a bottle Pecorino starting with his 1996 vintage. 

Pecorino is an aromatic grape with thick skins that loves clay soils.  The grapes experience a nice diurnal shift in day to night temperatures that help preserve the wine’s acidity and good ventilation of the mountains help keep the grapes dry and healthy.  

The Pecorino wines

Let’s take a look at some of my top favorite Pecorino wines from the tasting starting with my most favorite. 

The 2023 Nuntius Pecorino Terre di Chieti IGT is made from 100% Pecorino from the Mastrangelo Tenimenti del Grifone winery in Loreto Aprutino.  This winery started in 2000 with the grandfather.  The must goes through a short cryomaceration with the skins for 8-10 hours to extract the aromas these wines are known for.  The grapes are gently pressed with the must chilled and decanted for 10-12 hours.  It’s stored in stainless steel and aged on the lees for 3 months.  It spends one month in the bottle before release to the market.    

Grassy, green notes on the nose similar to some Sauvignon Blancs.  Medium-bodied with some saltiness on the crisp palate.  Round with ripe tropical fruit.  ABV 13% 

The 2023 Prope Pecorino Colli Aprutini IGT is made from 100% Pecorino from the producer Velenosi in Ascoli Piceno.  The owner, Angela Velenosi, is a native to Abruzzo.  The name of this wine, Prope, in latin means near since Ascoli Piceno lies on the border of the Marche region.  This wine is cold macerated for about 15 hours and vinified in cement barrels.   

Tropical and citrus notes on the aromas.    I found this wine to be light, airy and crisp with citrus/lemon notes and a touch of salt with a lengthy finish.  Different in style from the previous wine, but there is a wine for every occasion or pairing. Jeremy threw out that this wine could pair with fish tacos and I could see it being a perfect pairing with this particular one.  ABV 13% 

The 2023 Colleventano Pecorino Superiore Colline Teramane Abruzzo DOC is 100% Pecorino from Fattoria Giuseppe Savini in Morro D’Oro, whom is one of the longest running producers in the area established in 1949 by Vincenzo Savini. 

The grapes for this wine were immediately, softly pressed with a decantation for 36 hours with fermentation for about 12 days.  It rests in stainless tanks for 2 months with the fermentation yeasts.  Dry, with light to medium body, this wine was bright and crisp as well as delicate.  Citrus nights with nice elegance with a lengthy finish.  ABV 13.5% 

The 2023 Il Pecorino Abruzzo DOC Pecorino is 100% Pecorino from the San Lorenzo Vini winery in Castilenti.  The juice was cryomacerated and then softly pressed with spontaneous fermentation in stainless thanks with 3 months of refinement in the bottle. 

The wine had aromas of green apple with round fruit, citrus and pineapple, showing on the palate.  A touch of minerality showing nice elegance.  ABV 13% 

The 2023 Soprano Pecorino Controguerra DOC is from Cantina Strappelli in Torano Nuovo is made from 100% Pecorino.  A much different Pecorino than the previously tasted wines with toasty aromas and a hint of vanilla.  This Pecorino was mineral driven with a touch of vanilla on the palate as well with some nice length on the finish. 

The remaining Pecorino wines tasted include: 

• 2022 Tenuta Terraviva Ekwo Organic Pecorino Abruzzo DOC 
•  2023 Idi di Marzo Oro del Mare Pecorino Terre di Chieti IGT 
•  2022 Poderi D’Aurizio D’Auri Pecorino Terre di Chieti IGT 

Have you tried this grape?  What do you think and do you have any favorites?

You can shop on Wine.com in support of Vino Travels and find a variety of Pecorino wines to try for yourself.

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