Nonalcoholic wine has a history that starts with a Greenfield winery winning a gold medal at a county fair.

Here’s a fun fact: The only dealcoholized wine to win a gold medal at a formal competition against regular wines was created right here in Monterey County. The nonalcoholic wine was created when Hyatt hotels asked J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines to create a low-alcohol or nonalcoholic wine after they had noticed alcohol sales were dropping.

In 1986, J. Lohr subsidiary Ariel Vineyards was ready to show off their newly crafted dealcoholized wine that they had created at their vineyard in Greenfield. They brought it to the Los Angeles County Fair, where it was entered into the miscellaneous category – and they went home with the gold medal.

To this day, Ariel is one of the few companies based in California that creates dealcoholized wine.

Monterey County wine drinkers will soon have another alcohol-free option. Deerfield Ranch Winery has created a line of wine-infused seltzers called that will be available in select stores soon. The winery is located in Sonoma County, but Patrice Ward, the wholesale account manager, is a Monterey County resident and he is working to get it into stores locally.

“You think you’re drinking alcohol but you’re not,” Ward says. “Especially the Rosé, because it’s sparkling.”

Dealcoholized wines are made with the same grapes and the same process as regular wines, and then the alcohol is removed. That means consumers still get the classic wine taste and aroma – without the buzz, and without a headache the next day.