No-alcohol, low-cal drinks that sparkle

The holidays mark the end of one year and the beginning of another -- great cause for celebration. So it's hardly surprising that wine, beer and distilled spirits flow freely.

Those who can't imbibe -- or choose not to for health, weight, safety or other reasons -- often feel left out of the merriment. A growing number of nonalcoholic wines and beers provide new options. But are they drinkable?

To find out, I got an array of nonalcoholic beverages to taste. Palates vary widely. So I recruited some colleagues -- and my husband -- to try them. We sipped four types of beer and 14 varieties of wine. Results are included below.

But first, welcome to the sixth and final week of the Lean Plate Club Holiday Challenge. If you're just discovering the challenge, whose goal is simply to keep weight steady during the holiday season, it's not too late to join in. Figure it this way: If you've already gained a few pounds, you may be able to stave off any additional weight by making some adjustments. If you haven't gained any weight, you'll find help for maintaining your weight until 2008 at www.leanplateclub.com/holidaychallenge.

Alcohol can add lots of calories to festivities. At seven calories per gram, it rivals the nine calories found in fat. Plus, alcohol is easily converted into fat and the inhibitions that go with drinking can undermine the best intentions to eat smart.

Nonalcoholic beer and wine have about half the calories of the regular stuff. At $5 to $7 per bottle of wine and $5 to $6 for a six-pack of beer, they're competitively priced.

They're not alcohol-free, either, despite the nonalcoholic tag. They contain about 0.5 percent of alcohol, so these beverages may not be options for recovering alcoholics or for those who must completely abstain.

The wines can be tougher to like. I uncorked a bottle of 2004 Ariel chardonnay and sipped a small glass, just as I might with regular wine while cooking. At first, it seemed watery and had less body than regular chardonnay. But it tasted better with food, at least to me. My husband pronounced it, "drinkable, but barely."

Break out the bottles

It was time to recruit others. So on a Friday afternoon, I turned my newsroom cubicle into a mini-pub. It didn't take long for the popping of corks and the clanking of bottles to draw a small crowd.

Our taste test was decidedly unscientific and limited by what could be collected before deadline. We tasted four nonalcoholic beers: Beck's, Gerstel, O'Doul's and St. Pauli. We also sipped red, white, rose and sparkling wine from two major winemakers: California's Ariel, which in the 1980s beat out several regular wine producers to win a gold medal, and the German-bottled Carl Jung, named after the famous analyst. Ariel is available nationwide at liquor and grocery stores. Carl Jung can be bought on the Internet (www.carljungwines.com).

Nearly all our testers liked all the nonalcoholic brews, but O'Doul's Amber was the clear favorite.

Wine without carbonation was harder to like. Ariel Merlot and Carl Jung Merlot were most palatable. While acceptable to some, most still rated them thin compared to regular red wine. Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon was liked by some and disliked by others. As one said, "I'd rather drink grape juice."

White wines were even tougher. Many found them tasteless, watery and said they'd neither drink nor serve them. Exceptions were Carl Jung Riesling, Ariel Blanc and Ariel Chardonnay.

My colleagues ran out of steam before we tried all the wines. So my husband and I sipped the remainder at home. Carl Jung Vin Rouge and Rouge by Ariel had pretty full flavor with a slightly tart taste of a dry red wine.

What we enjoyed most, though, were Ariel White Zinfandel and Carl Jung Vin Rose. Both were light and pleasant -- close to the real thing.

All this illustrates the wide variability in nonalcoholic beverages. Bottom line: There are plenty of choices out there to sip, but you may have to do a little testing yourself to see what you like.