My research tells me that Lent is a preparation for the celebration of Easter. It is the period of fasting leading up to the feast of Easter, recalling Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness. Catholic Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends right before the evening Masses of Holy Thursday, although Lenten penance continues through Holy Saturday.

Fasting

The free online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, defines fasting as “primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time”. I am sure you or many persons that you know have given up something for Lent. The wide and varied branches of Christianity and their various definitions can sometimes cause the understanding of Lent to be a mystery, for others Lent is a period when people go on a diet. A lot of people give up drinking alcohol, so for those persons non-alcoholic wines or sparkling grape juice are options for you.

Non-alcoholic wines

Apart from persons ‘fasting’, non-alcoholic wines provide a nice social option for designated drivers, expectant mothers and those on medications who are not allowed to drink.

Most non-alcoholic wines are made from the same premium grapes as other fine wines and are aged and fermented in barrels. Alcohol is filtered out just before the wine is bottled. This can be done through cold filtration, among other methods.

In many countries the legal definition of an alcohol-free drink is that it must contain less than one-half of one per cent of alcohol. While it is physically impossible to remove all of the alcohol in non-alcoholic wines, these drinks meet the alcohol-free legal standard. The tiny amount of alcohol in alcohol-free wines is not enough to make you feel drunk and is actually less than you might find in a glass of fresh orange juice.

Available in Jamaica

A quick visit to a few supermarkets over the past weekend revealed a number of non-alcoholic beverages on the market, however, they are not technically wines. They are unfermented, non-alcoholic carbonated grape juice. If your pour some of these into a champagne glass, most persons will never know what you are drinking. Brands found were Chamdor from South Africa, Welch’s from the USA, Eva and May from Spain and Bel Normande, Keror and Bon Apple Tite from France.

A thought

One very interesting thought about this “giving it up for Lent” concept is that many of the persons who are practising it have not seen inside of a church for a very long time, save for a funeral or wedding here or there.

Cheers!! Fasting, or simply not in the mood for alcohol, try one of these non-alcoholic wines today.

Chris Reckord is an independent wine consultant who operates DeVine Wine Services with his wife Kerri-Anne. Chris & Kerri are also part owners of Jamaica’s first and only wine-only bar -Bin 26 Wine Bar. Please send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Follow us on twitter.com/DeVineWines