Thriving Alcohol-Free with Mocktail Mom

EP 33 Director of Winemaking at Giesen Wines, Duncan Shouler

• Deb, Mocktail Mom • Season 1 • Episode 33

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I am thrilled to have Duncan Shouler, the Director of Winemaking at Giesen Wines, join me on the podcast today! 

The entire range of Giesen 0% wines are some of my favorite de-alcoholized wines.  The Giesen 0% Sauvignon Blanc has been my "go-to" non-alcoholic wine for over two years. Shout out to my friend Mathilda, who introduced me to the Giesen brand - I am forever thankful! Giesen Wines are very accessible, reasonably priced & delicious.

Join us as we take a flavorful journey to the serene vineyards of New Zealand with Duncan.

Prepare to be captivated by Duncan's remarkable journey to becoming the master of winemaking at Giesen and his undeniable passion for the craft. We'll unravel the unique attributes that make Giesen Wines stand out in the crowded winemaking world and delve into the exciting details of their latest masterpiece, the Sparkling Brut 0%.

Duncan gives us an inside look into the fascinating world of zero-alcohol wine-making, revealing the unique influence of the Marlborough region's climate on the intense passion fruit and tropical fruit flavors of their Sauvignon Blanc. We'll uncover the secret behind the innovative spinning cone technology that removes alcohol without sacrificing the wine's exquisite flavor. From bottling in New Zealand to shipping across the globe to the United States, we've got you covered on all things Giesen Wines.

Finally, join us as we navigate the intriguing world of zero-alcohol wine varieties with Duncan. Celebrate the complexities of Pinot Gris, toast to the growing popularity of Rose, and savor the unique flavor profiles of Giesen's non-alcoholic sparkling wines. Want to know the best part?

We're giving two lucky winners a Giesen Wines' Sparkling Brut case, so make sure you get all the details on our Instagram accounts: @GiesenWines and @Mocktail.Mom

Tune in, learn, and immerse yourself in the enchanting world of de-alcoholized wines in this episode of Thriving Alcohol-Free. 

Head to The Mocktail Summit to access all the replays!

You are loved. Big Time Cheers!

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Welcome, friends, and welcome to the Thriving Alcohol Free podcast. I'm your host, deb, otherwise known as Mocktail Mom, a retired wine drinker that finally got sick and tired of spinning on Life's Broken Record called Detox to Retox. Let this podcast be an encouragement to you. If alcohol is maybe a form of self-care for you or you find yourself dragging through the day waiting to pour another glass, I am excited to share with you the fun of discovering new things to drink when you aren't drinking and the joy of waking up each day without a hangover. It is an honor to serve as your sober, fun guide, so sit back and relax or keep doing whatever it is you're doing. This show is produced for you with love from the great state of Kentucky. Thanks so much for being here and big time cheers. Okay, hey, friends, it's Deb.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Welcome back to Thriving Alcohol Free with Mocktail Mom. I am your host and I am so excited today. I could not sleep last night because my guest today is the director of wine making of my absolute favorite, giesen Wines. Duncan Shuler is here all the way from New Zealand, coming to us in the podcast studio. Duncan, how are you?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Very good, deb, not too bad. How are you?

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

I'm so good. Okay, I am obsessed with Giesen and I have been for probably over two years now and I used to call it Giesen. I think a lot of people call it the wrong thing, so let's just get that right off the bat. Let's just say it's Giesen, right, am I saying?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

it the right way. It is Giesen, Absolutely. It's Giesen all the way.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Because you hear it all different ways, right.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

You do? Yeah, I know it is. It's one of those words where absolutely it could be Giesen. It could be Giesen, they're all right, but I think technically it's Giesen.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

It's Giesen. Okay, well, good. Well, today I want to hear about your background. I want to know about you how you got into wine making, how you got connected to Giesen, how you came up the ranks to become the director of wine making, and then talk a little bit about Giesen it's just the brand and what sets you guys so far apart. That sounds good. At the very end, we're going to talk about a giveaway that we're doing. It'll be over on Instagram, but we will share details about that because you have a brand new 0% coming out the Sparkling Brutal. Is it officially out yet? I don't know. In the States it seems like it's rolling out.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

It's rolling out. It's going to make a bit of a bang, or a pop even, but it's rolling out at the moment.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Wonderful and we've tried it. It's so good, so good. Okay, let's start Duncan, which is so funny to say. Duncan, do you guys have Duncan donuts in New Zealand?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

We do, and I have been called Duncan donuts once or twice.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

We just call it Duncan here. We just call it Duncan, so it's so fun to meet you, Duncan. Tell me a little bit about your background and just who you are and how you came into winemaking.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Yeah, look, I sort of got into winemaking. It was a really kind of quite a long journey actually that got me there. I was born in England I've still got a bit of the accent and grew up in England and Scotland. For a little while. When I was growing up we lived in Cyprus in the Mediterranean. I was very, very lucky. I was a young boy there and I've got great memories of eating out in local Tibernas, tours and restaurants. There was always local village wines and vineyards. I remember that really really well and I think that's probably where I caught the wine bug Really.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Yeah, from the age of probably 15 or 16, I found wine really interesting. Yeah, my dad would always have a glass of wine with dinner. Then I studied marine biology in Scotland and got into marine biology for a while. By the age of about 24, I decided to have a bit of a career change and got into the wine industry. I wanted to do something. It was a bit of a hobby of mine and wine was a hobby. I wanted to do something science-based because I was in biology, marine biology. I was obviously quite lifestyle-driven doing marine biology. At that time the wine industry in New Zealand was really booming. It was a really important time for the wine industry in New Zealand. Wine seemed like a pretty good idea and pretty exciting, interesting. I jumped into it and went from there.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Wow, how did you get connected to Giesen? How long have you been with Giesen?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

I've been with Giesen for seven years. Okay, I've lived in New Zealand now for about 22 years and worked in the wine industry in New Zealand, a little bit in the States, a bit in France, all over the place. I've always been watching Giesen, so I think I've always been very interested in them as a company, as being very innovative and making wine throughout.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

New.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Zealand and making wine in lots of different styles, different shapes and forms. This is a while ago. This is before we even thought about doing zero alcohol. I was really attracted to the company. Then I got the opportunity to work at Giesen as a senior winemaker beginning of 2017. It jumped on the opportunity and went from there, really.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

When did the 0% start? Had it already started in 2017 with Giesen, when you were there, or had it start after you got there?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

I started in 2017 at Giesen and then we started zero alcohol three years ago. We started playing with it about the end of 2019. Then, commercially, we started releasing wines 2020.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Interesting. That was right about the time everybody was home drinking.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Exactly. Yes, there was a lot of things that aligned it all started because we did a health and well-being challenge at the company. It was one of those things where most of the employees in the company signed up to it and you had to commit to eating well and counting steps for a month. Part of it was you couldn't drink.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

There was no alcohol involved. In order to stay on this health and well-being program, you had to abstain from drinking alcohol. Myself and the winemaking team, we all thought it was a great idea. We all signed up. Then, pretty quickly, we had the horrible realization that none of us could drink wine for a month or a year or anything else. Quite literally, we said let's go to the grocery store, let's go to the liquor store and see what we can find that is, zero alcohol. There really wasn't much choice. There was a few beers and one or two wines. What we tried, they were okay but they weren't great. We literally said look, let's try and make one, let's see if we can do it and create something that's a New Zealand serving your own block with an alcohol. That was really the start.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Oh, my word, I had no idea. I had no idea that it started with a health and well-being challenge. How fascinating, right.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

It's great, it fits. It all fits really well, because that was literally how it started for us. Of course, since we started, it's become such an important part of it all. It's really the health and well-being drive initiative that's driving the growth of the category. It's been fascinating to watch for us.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yeah, what have you seen change in the category in three years? How has it?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

evolved More than anything else growth and presence in the market. I think even just three years ago, turning in New Zealand, there wasn't that much and there wasn't a big initiative behind it. There wasn't much choice. But I think now, and especially with COVID you mentioned it earlier it really kind of brought the health and well-being thing to the forefront of everyone's minds. With that came the idea that you can go out and have fun and drink less or no alcohol. This whole category has exploded. I think certainly a lot of growth.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

When we got into it we probably assumed that our key customers would be people that can't or don't drink alcohol, for example, people who are driving home, people who don't drink at all or pregnant or that Of course those are all really really important customers in the category. But what we've seen is a lot of the growth is just driven by health and well-being and moderators. These are people who might drink a regular glass of wine on a Tuesday, but on a Wednesday they want to moderate, so they're having a glass of zero. That's been really important to the growth, but also to how we approach, how we design the wines and how we develop them, because ultimately you're making zero alcohol wines for wine drinkers, or mostly wine drinkers.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yep, I was a champion wine drinker before I broke up with Chardonnay. You start with the Sauvignon Blanc, the 0%. It's delicious, it tastes just like the real deal. In my personal opinion, I don't think you can tell the difference. I haven't had regular wine and I guess you call it the leaded version. Is that what you call it, the leaded version, the unleaded version? I've been enjoying your unleaded version now for a couple of years, but it's just delicious. What makes the Marble region so different for making like that's where Sauvignon Blanc is the best comes from. What makes that so different, so unique?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Yeah, we're blessed in Marble. We have fantastic weather. It's very cold here this morning but the sun, believe me, is shining behind me. It's this stunning day out there. We have fantastic weather and we have a lot of UV intensity. That UV intensity is really key to Sauvignon Blanc here. It means that we develop really intense fruit flavor. We have really really intense passion fruit characteristics. When you're making a zero alcohol wine, you have to accept that when you remove the alcohol, it's very hard to avoid losing some flavor. It's going to happen. Alcohol has flavor and alcohol helps to lift the flavor of a wine. When you take it away, you lose some flavor. When you start with a Marble Sauvignon Blanc or a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, you've got a really really high level of flavor. If you take some away, you still have a good amount of flavor. That's one of the keys to the starting wine, to the Sauvignon Blanc that we produce. But it still has that characteristic New Zealand passion fruit and tropical fruit flavors.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

It's delicious. Can you explain? How do you do the? How does the magic happen? How are you removing the alcohol? How am I enjoying? Bottle after bottle, it tastes like the real deal, but I've never had a hangover, haven't had any regrets enjoying the geese in 0%. How do you make it happen?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

It starts like any wine. It starts in the vineyard. You've got to select the right vineyards that are akin to the style of wine that we make when we make zero alcohol. Then for us there are two things. There are two key drivers that push the quality. One of them is the quality of the base wine. You've got to make a really, really good, regular wine to start off with. You're starting off by all the classic steps you harvest the fruit, you press the grapes, you ferment it with selected yeast to create all the flavors you're after. You've got to create a really, really nice. In the example of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, you've got to make a really nice Sauvignon Blanc to start off with. That's step one. Then step two, of course, is you've got to remove the alcohol. That's an important process.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

We use a process called spinning cone technology, which is quite a scary term but it's actually very, very simple technology. It's really good for removing wine. They use it in the perfume industry to extract aroma and capture aroma. We do the same thing with the wine. So, basically, we put the wine through the spinning cone and it uses a vacuum distillation process over a large surface area to remove the alcohol at low temperatures. And that's really important because if you submit wine to high temperatures you damage the flavour, the wine will look cooked and you'll lose those fresh characteristics. So you're very, very low temperature and you remove the aroma first of all, and then you put the wine back through and remove all of the alcohol and then you combine the aroma back into the wine without the alcohol, almost like you're adding a cervignon blanc perfume back to the wine and that brings back the flavour and the aromas and all the characteristics. So the process sounds simple. It is a bit more complicated than that, but that's the essence of it.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

The essence of it, yeah.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Yeah, that's the basics of it, and we're lucky at Gießen that we have our own spinning cone unit. We're the only winery in New Zealand to have our own wine, so that means we can really focus on the quality, and that's really important for us. It's our own team of specialists who are using it and we get to know the machinery very, very well so we can really drive the quality.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Incredible. Is there a special name for the spinning cone machine? Do you have you guys named it? Do?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

you know what we actually have it. It's called an SCC1000, which is really boring, but I like that we should name it. I think we need to give it a name.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

We need to name it. Yes, we need to name this machine of magic. Absolutely. Are all of the wines made in New Zealand? Because I'm so thankful, like originally, I just was able to find Gießen the 0% at like total wine, but now I'm able to find it like at Kroger and locally here in the United States, so I'm able to find it like a lot more places now. So is everything, every bottle that I purchase, is it made in New Zealand and you're shipping it over how? Or is there somewhere here in the United States that it's being bottled? How is this happening? Absolutely.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

So it's all made and bottled in New Zealand. So that's really important for us. So we have full control over the whole process. So we obviously grow the fruit here in New Zealand, make the baseline, we de-alcalize it here in New Zealand and then we bottle it literally just over the road in New Zealand from the winery. So that's very important. So everything that goes to the USA is bottled in New Zealand and that means we've got full control over that process and that means we can really drive the quality of it.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Wow, so you just have ships after ships are going from New Zealand to the United States. I mean, it has to be container after container. I cannot imagine how many bottles you're sending over here.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Yeah, it's become big, and certainly when we first if I think back to the end of 2019, when we did our first little trial and we said let's go at this, let's see what we can do.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

and we made a tiny little 1000-litre batch. I mean, it's a couple of hundred gallons and when I think back to then, the growth since then has been phenomenal. It's really taken off. So it's become a big part of what we do now. We still make a lot of full-alcohol wine. That's what we do first, not first and foremost, but that's. The biggest volume we make is still full-alcohol wine, but the zero alcohol is really catching up in terms of volume and in terms of the impact it's having in the market. It's really important.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

It's really important. It really is and it's such a support. I mean. I know there's people who just want to maybe have some take a break midweek, just be able to have their regular wine and have unleaded another evening. But for people who really have walked away from regular alcohol, it is so helpful to have delicious non-alcoholic wines or alcohol-free wines that are that taste good and can continue drinking but not have the alcohol. So, okay, let's talk about the lineup. Can we talk about the 0% lineup? Do you want to name off your? Do you have a favorite? Do you want to start wherever you want to start? They're probably all your favorites. Probably like asking like which one is your favorite child, right? Yeah?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

My personal favorite is probably the Riesling. We have a zero-alcohol Riesling and we make a Riesling here at Gießen which is sort of like a Germanic style. A Gießen was founded by three German brothers and so we sort of have a bit of a nod back to that heritage with our Riesling and it's a slightly medium sweet Riesling, really lovely. So the Gießen zero Riesling is a similar style. It's medium sweet, it's got that lovely citrusy, limey characteristic and of course, no alcohol. It works really really well as an aperitif. Subtle sweetness and a beautiful acidity. That's a hallmark of New Zealand wine. It's that really lovely fresh acidity and that wine has it. It's just delicious.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

I thought the fun would be over and I thought there was nothing good to drink if I wasn't pouring Chardonnay every evening. Maybe that's you. Maybe you're thinking the fun is over. Maybe you're thinking what on earth will I drink if I'm not drinking?

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

So join me and the members of Thriving Alcohol Free with Mocktail Mom. We are a community of like-minded women supporting one another. Not a sober program, just a place to connect and have a good time, to make some new friends that you can drink with. We have weekly happy half hours. We have daily connections, touch points where you can be supported wherever you are on your alcohol free journey. There is no shame, whether it's day one or day 1,000, or you're just sober, curious and you want to see what would this be like if I wasn't drinking? What options are there? So join us at. Thrivingalcoholfreecom Is the direct website, or you can go to MocktailMomcom and just click on membership and I'd love to share with you some more details, or reach out and we would love to be of support to you. Big time shares. Okay, going down the list, I think we have got five or six right. I mean, we were at five, now we're at six with the sparkling broot, am I right? Am I counting right?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Yes, okay.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

So the Merlot, do you call it Merlot or do you call it Red Blend?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

It's premium Red Blend, so it is a Merlot base, but we've got a bit of Cabernet Franc in there, a little bit of Syrah, a few things in there that we use to blend, try and create a wine that is rounded. That's probably the hardest one to make. I think if you speak to wine makers, they'll generally say that the red wines zero red wines always the hardest to make. When you're making the white wine, when you remove the alcohol, something stands out and that's the acidity. So you've got to find a way to balance the acidity. One of the classic ways of doing that is with sweetness. Now we try and avoid that because we want to make sure that our zeros are drier, lower in calories and give you that really whiny experience, which is a dry wine.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

With a red wine, when you remove the alcohol, the tannin stands out. So that sort of drying sensation to get with the red wine is more prevalent. So you've got to be really careful and you've got to select the right vineyards that don't have too much of that tannin. So the wine still has a softness and a fruitiness, but you do want some structure and that's really important with the red wine because people are probably going to drink it with maybe some red meat at home or with cheese, and you need that structure to work with food and you get that lovely wine and food combination go. So that's probably the hardest one to make, it's the biggest challenge, but we love it. We love a challenge at Geeson and that's what we love about the wines to actually make.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

That's awesome. Well, and you're succeeding. Yes, because it's definitely not grape juice in a wine bottle, and I think a lot of times the reds that I've tried are it's like, oh, this bottle is so pretty, and then you taste it and you're like, oh, it just tastes like grape juice. So it's definitely not that. It's wonderful. Okay, pinot gris.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Pinot gris, yeah, okay, so the Pinot gris is. New Zealand is a great place for Pinot gris. Like I said, it's famous for lots of fruit and really lovely acidity. So Pinot gris is a variety that if it's not done well, can be a little bit boring. It can be quite low in flavor and not very complex. We're pretty blessed in New Zealand that we have loads of flavor, lots of pears, apple, a little bit of floral characteristic and you see that with our zero alcohol, pinot gris and just a touch of sweetness gives it that kind of lusciousness on the palate and really balances those kind of autumn fruits that are quite delicious. That wine for me is a really, really great sort of entry into zero alcohol because it's very, very drinkable, very, very slightly sweet, straight out of the fridge. You can drink it with food or with a pair of teeths or just on a hot afternoon. It's a really lovely, simple wine that's just got lots of lovely fruity flavor.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

It's perfect, it's so perfect. Okay, the rose.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Rose. Yeah, rose, I mean that's. I mean talking of one categories that have exploded in Rose, sort of. I think it started it's, it's it's growth, probably 10 or 15 or 12 years ago, and it's just gone and gone and gone. It's amazing. Rose is a category is it's just grown and grown and grown. So certainly for zero alcohol. It's. It's an obvious choice for us to have a zero alcohol alternative in that Rose category. So we make a style that is that's off dry. Again, we don't want it to be sweet, we don't want it to look at all like grape juice, we really want it to be whiny and we want it to be quite low in color. We don't want a bright pink rose, we want it to be a little bit along the lines of a Provence style style, so delicate, stone fruit, a little bit of strawberry, something that's very slightly floral, off dry on the finish and super refreshing. So it's got a nice bite of red apple acidity on the finish that makes you want to go back from under glass.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yeah, it does. It has a little bit, a little bite, yes, which is perfect. Yes, it's so good. Okay, my absolute favorite, the Sauvignon Blanc, which. Can we just talk about the lower calories? You did mention that, the lower calories when you're not drinking alcohol. I mean, this entire bottle that I'm holding. My little best friend here has 100 calories in the entire bottle. How is that possible?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Yeah, so it's one of those. For people who do drink full alcohol, it's one of the most disappointing things to hear, actually, but alcohol contains a lot of calories. So alcohol contains more calories than, for example, sugar. So when we remove the alcohol, certainly you're reducing the amount of calories quite significantly. And, like I said, there are a lot of zero alcohol wines that replace the alcohol with sweetness and it gives it a sort of a sweet, sometimes great juicy, character. Now, we're really conscious that we don't want to do that. We want it to be fresh and dry on the finish. So you've got that desire to go back for another glass.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

So because we have no alcohol and because we have lower sugar than most, it means we've got really low calories, so it's a lovely benefit to it. I think that when you're drinking it, it's healthy because there's no alcohol, but it's also lower in calories and sugar.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yeah, people are shocked when they look at the nutritional label. I mean I was shocked like is this right? Let me put my reading glasses on, because this cannot be right, that you can drink the entire bottle and it's 100 calories. Yeah, one glass is 12 ounces it's 45 calories.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Unbelievable. Yeah, and that's a big glass, that's a half of a glass.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yeah, I'm just going to say that's like a Duncan glass from Duncan.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Donuts, right, that's a one glass, then right.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yeah, yeah, okay. All right, let's talk about the newest introduction into the family, the sparkling brute 0%. Are you ready? Would you like to introduce the world America to the sparkling brute? What would you like to say about your newest?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

adventure Absolutely Well, look, it was only a matter of time. Yeah, we started with the other varieties. We started with the most obvious variety for us in New Zealand being Sauvignon Blanc. But everybody loves bubbles, everyone loves a glass of bubbles. And one thing we found is that, with that zero alcohol space, it's all about it's health and well-being, but it's also about occasion. An occasion it means you can go out for dinner with your friends and have a glass of wine without the alcohol. You can sit in front of the TV and have a glass of wine without the alcohol. But what if you're at a wedding or a party or a birthday or a celebration? You're going to want bubbles and it's just the two go together celebration, occasion and bubbles. Just they're a perfect match.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

So for us, it made perfect sense for us to make a sparkling. Again, we're lucky in New Zealand that we were quite well suited to sparkling. For sparkling wine you need lovely fruit flavor, but you really need good acidity. It's really important. And a cool climate like New Zealand is freezing this morning, so we're definitely cool. Climate is perfect for that. So we made a base wine and we blend it a few varieties together that give us fruit. They give us some texture, they give us lovely acidity, and then we've de-alcoholized that and then we've carbonated it very, very cold. So we carbonate it a bit like a beer, really low temperatures, and that gives you these really lovely fine bubbles that almost give it a sort of a champagne mousse quality, and it's just, it's just delicious. It's just got this lovely kind of green apple acidity, freshness. It's fun.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

That's exactly as the exact first flavor that I tasted was the apple there's. That's the first first flavor. Yeah, it's so delicious and the bubbles are perfect. I mean, it's just, it's like got so so many bubbles when you pour it it does, it feels so festive. It's the perfect, perfect wine to bring for an event, for a wedding, for celebration. So good. I will say okay.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

So my daughter I have a 15 year, I have two girls, but my 15 year old has quite the palate and she loves to try my non-alcoholic drinks and she loves to try the non-alcoholic wines and I will tell you, the sparkling brute is her absolute favorite, top of the list One. You guys were very generous to send me some samples to try, so before we had our chat today, but as soon as it's available, I will be purchasing this from Total Wine. But the she the first bottle that we finished. She saved the entire bottle, cleaned it, dried it out and it's now in her bedroom as like her she's like it's on the shelf. So that's the good thing about the zero percent you can drink with your you know your children Absolutely.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

We've got a five year old and she certainly she's sort of she hasn't drunk a whole glass yet, but she's showing it to her and saying what does this smell like? And she'll say you know, apples, pears, whatever.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yeah.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

And then just have a tiny taste. But the bubbles, it is nice and what I like about it is it's playful and it's fun. It's just a really fun wine to drink. I mean, starting from opening the bottle, you've got that classic pop of the cork and you kind of you know it's a celebration. And then bubbles on the palate, just that fizz, it just it's just fun, so fun. And we certainly encourage people to have a bit of fun with the wine as well. I mean drink it as it is, like you would drink a regular glass of bubbles or put a strawberry in the glass or, you know, make it, make whatever you want, put in some some, some peach, peach jam or anything at all, and have a bit of fun.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Oh yeah, oh, that sounds so good. Yeah, or a little bit of juice, make a little yeah, a little mimosa or something.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Perfect, so perfect.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yeah, perfect for buzz worthy brunches without the buzz, exactly, yeah, something like that.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

I think Christmas as well. I know, on Christmas Day. I don't know about you, but I've always loved the glass of bubbles on Christmas Day and it's a wonderful thing. But when you have it in the morning with your croissant and you've got a big day ahead, you know this is going to be great. I think I can see me drinking some Zirakal bubbles on Christmas Day in the morning now, so that I can have that experience but still feel fresh and, you know, be able to sort of attack the day and enjoy it.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yeah, yeah. Keep the tradition, keep the ritual, but, you know, forgo the sluggishness that can sometimes come with drinking alcohol, especially early on a long holiday day. Okay, I want to chat about our giveaways. Does that sound okay to do? Absolutely.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Absolutely.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

I'm so thankful to partner with you guys to do a giveaway. I mean anybody who. I talk about geese in all the time, so this should not come as a surprise to anyone that we're doing this. But okay, so to launch the sparkling brute here in the United States. 0% sparkling brute in the United States. We are doing a giveaway. It's going to run from September 8th We'll put all the details on Instagram but it's going to run from September 8th to September 22nd two weeks.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

We'll put all the details on Instagram, but there's going to be three lucky winners who are actually going to win what? They're going to win? A case of sparkling brute, which is what 12 bottles this is. It's going to take them all through the holidays, through all quarter four, and through the holidays they're going to have this. Two winners will be well, all of them will be random, but one lucky winner will have to be a member of my membership, thriving alcohol free. I have a membership of ladies who we get together every week for a happy half hour and we just connect and support one another on our alcohol free journey wherever we are. So whether somebody's sober, curious or just interested in mocktails but so three winners. One of them will be from the thriving alcohol free membership. But three winners will win 12 bottles of the sparkling brute. That's a huge price. I hope you can hear everybody cheering Duncan in the background Just as they're listening. They're like, oh yay, that's a huge giveaway.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

I can hear a faint cheer across the Atlantic Ocean.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Yes, you can definitely. I can hear it. I can definitely hear it, but we'll put all the details on Instagram. But that is the giveaway that we're doing, and I just wanted to see if there's anything, anything else you want to share with the listeners in the States about, maybe, what's coming up for Giesen or what we can expect to see.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Yeah, absolutely. I think, probably to a degree, expect the unexpected from us. We really love to innovate and, like I said, we've got our own technology so we can innovate whenever we want and we do it all the time. So we love to bring out new products. We love we're a very sort of consumer driven company, so we love to hear from consumers or the people want to see what's the next wine they want to be able to have at low alcohol or no alcohol. So we're certainly not going to rest on those six wines. We're going to keep going and bringing out new additions and we love it. We love innovating, we love creating new things and getting that feedback from people like yourself, deb, and from consumers. It's fantastic for us. So we're excited, I think, that the low-nose space is going to continue to grow and become more and more important and we're very thankful that we're a part of it.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

So I'm so thankful you guys are part of it. Okay, actually, I have two questions that somebody was asking. A couple of people were asking on Instagram. I did post in my stories asking if anybody had any questions for you. Do you mind if I fire these away at you real quick before we finish? Absolutely, that'd be all right, okay. So one question was how is Gießen different from other non-alcoholic wines? So I think you kind of touched on it, but by the fact that you have your own spinning cone technology, the SCC 1000, is that what it's called?

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

That's exactly it. Yeah, you got it. Yeah, it's the SCC 1000. So, yeah, that would certainly be a big difference that we have our own technology. We do it all in-house. But one of the probably the other two main things are one is that all of our Zirakol wines are made exactly as a regular wine. So we don't add any flavorings, we don't add things like glycerol, things that you can't add to regular wine. So that's really important for us is it is literally treated exactly the same as a regular wine and we don't add anything that you couldn't to regular wine. And the other thing is that they're mostly drier. They're certainly mostly drier than a lot of the competition and, again, we're really keen to avoid that kind of great juicy character. I say the word whiny a lot these days and it's not really a technical wine term, but it just fits for Zirakol because they are whiny.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

They've got to be Venus and give you that wine experience.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

I love that. Okay, so I love that you're using a non-technical term, because that's all the only terms that I know. So I agree with you. It is very whiny, even though, yes, there's no alcohol in there. Okay, last question, somebody was asking are the grapes and I don't know if it's okay to ask this are the grapes free of pesticides? Or how are the grapes grown? And if you can share, a little bit of details about that.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

Absolutely. Now that's a really important question. So all of the grapes that we use for Zirakol wine are what we call in New Zealand swing certified. So that's sustainable wine growing in New Zealand. So that means that everything is free from pesticides and they're all sustainably grown. So that means that the wines will be swing certified, sustainably certified. So anyone who's having a glass can be confident that they're sustainably grown and free from pesticides and any sort of toxins.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Wow, it's amazing the quality of the wine and that it's so accessible and affordable. I mean the quality of the wine, it should be higher, you know it should be more expensive and I think like, oh, it's only you know, like here in the States, I think I can, I think I get this, probably the 70-inch block, maybe for like $16 or so. I mean it's under $20, which is phenomenal for a yeah, fabulous whiny.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

you know de-alcoholized wine. So, duncan, it is unbelievably thrilling for me to meet you. I mean really thank you, thank you. Thank you from me and from every person here in the States who's listening or anybody around the world who's listening and has just been looking. You know we're like, oh my gosh, like when I first stopped drinking, like everything just tastes like grape juice in a wine bottle, and so thank you for the massive impact that you've made in the zero percent space. No worries, I know that's fantastic.

Duncan Shouler | Director of Winemaking, Giesen Wines:

It's lovely to hear that and we get a huge amount of satisfaction from comments like that, from people who are saying that you know, we've been waiting for these wines and we're now getting them. Super satisfying for us, for myself and for the team at Geeson. So thank you for supporting us and, like I said, we'll keep bringing out some new exciting styles for you all in the future.

Deb | Mocktail Mom :

Cannot wait, cannot wait. Okay, please thank the team. Thank the team from all of us. We are very grateful. I will Big time cheers to you for tuning in to the Thriving Alcohol Free podcast. I hope you will take something from today's episode and make one small change that will help you to thrive and have fun in life without alcohol. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social, send up a flare or leave a rating and a review. I am cheering for you as you discover the world of non-alcoholic drinks and as you journey towards authentic freedom. See you in the next episode.