Family-owned J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines is shipping the 2025 ARIEL Sauvignon Blanc this month at a $13 suggested retail price, adding one of the world's most commercially significant white wine varieties to an alcohol-removed portfolio that has operated for more than four decades.
The Numbers
NielsenIQ scan data for the 52-week period ending August 8, 2026 show ARIEL Vineyards brand sales up 16.7% versus the prior-year period — a rate that outpaces broader wine category trends and reinforces the commercial logic behind the label extension. The new Sauvignon Blanc carries 21 calories per 5-ounce serving and zero grams of added sugar, specs increasingly cited by retail buyers as shelf-placement criteria in the better-for-you beverage aisle. At $13 SRP, the SKU sits at the accessible end of the premium alcohol-removed segment, where much of the volume growth is concentrated.
Why It Matters
The Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association reports that 92% of adults who purchase non-alcoholic adult beverages also buy their alcoholic counterparts — a crossover rate that positions the segment as additive to a winery's total revenue rather than cannibalistic. For J. Lohr, extending ARIEL into Sauvignon Blanc captures a varietal that has demonstrated consistent consumer pull across both conventional and alcohol-removed channels. The winery produces the wine using traditional techniques before removing alcohol via reverse osmosis, a process the Lohr family first patented in 1985. That proprietary history gives the brand a manufacturing and credentialing advantage that newer entrants to the alcohol-removed segment lack.
The launch arrives as alcohol-removed and low-ABV wine continues to attract both independent producers and large portfolio players. ARIEL's awards record — including USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice honours for Best Non-Alcoholic Wine in both 2024 and 2025, a 2026 SIP Awards Platinum medal for its Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Double Gold for its Chardonnay — provides retail accounts with the third-party validation that supports premium shelf placement and on-premise listings.
What's Next
"Sauvignon Blanc is one of the key white varietals showing consistent growth and consumer interest," said Cynthia Lohr, Co-owner and Chief Brand Officer of J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines. "We're poised to capture this growth and delight fans of wines from ARIEL Vineyards with another delicious, alcohol-removed choice." The comment signals that varietal expansion — rather than format or packaging innovation — is the near-term growth lever for the ARIEL line. With Sauvignon Blanc now alongside Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, the portfolio covers the three varietals that historically drive the bulk of still-wine volume in U.S. retail. Operators and retail buyers tracking the better-for-you beverage segment will find the $13 price point and established brand equity notable factors in category reset discussions heading into 2027.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
