How we check a claim

The short answer

We check each claim against a source that actually supports it for that product. A declared alcohol level does not establish how a drink was made. If the evidence stops short, so does the review.

A source supports a particular fact, not every claim about a bottle.
Production type and the named removal technique are separate fields.
Facts come from cited evidence. Scores come from dated firsthand tastings.

Tasting notes are editorial judgments. Alcohol level, ingredients, and production process are factual claims: each needs evidence. Our methodology explains how we taste and score; this guide explains how we check what goes into the facts panel.

Which sources we use

We look for the exact product and the exact claim. A detailed technical sheet can settle a production question that a brief product page leaves open. A retailer can be the appropriate source for a listed price. Neither source establishes facts it does not state.

Source	What it supports	Its limits
Bottle or label	Declared ABV, ingredients, volume, and any process statement printed on that bottle.	A 0.0% declaration is not an independent measurement. A label may leave the process unnamed.
Producer documentation	Product-specific facts in technical sheets, product pages, or direct statements.	A general account of the range may not apply to every SKU or formulation.
Official documentation	The declarations or findings recorded in a regulatory or government record.	Approval or registration does not establish facts outside that record’s scope.
Importer or distributor	Product details stated in a technical sheet or other attributable documentation.	We retain the source attribution; it does not become producer verification.
Secondary reporting	An attributable claim in press coverage, a registry, or another report.	We check what was actually reported and whether it applies to this product.
Retailer listing	The shop’s stated ABV, package size, price, and other listed details.	Generic process copy and claims about another bottle do not establish this bottle’s method.

The facts panel names the evidence: Bottle verified, Producer documented, Official documentation, Distributor sourced, Secondary source, or Retailer sourced. Unverified means the available evidence does not settle the claim. Production verification requires primary evidence for that type; a sourced retailer description alone does not earn it.

What retailer listings can establish

A shop listing can give us a declared alcohol level without explaining production. “Alcohol-free” does not itself mean alcohol was removed, and “filtered” does not name a removal technique.

These two records show how the evidence changes what we can say. Their reviews carry the source details.

Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler Riesling

Declared ABV: Supported: 0.0% — retailer sourced.
Production type: Dealcoholized description retained from historical retailer copy; unverified.
Removal technique: Undeclared.

The estate documentation in the record does not cover this alcohol-free bottle’s equipment. We cannot transfer a process from another Riesling or infer a vacuum still from the retailer’s description.

Oddbird GSM

Declared ABV: Supported: 0.0% — producer documented.
Production type: Supported: Dealcoholized — producer documented.
Removal technique: Supported: Vacuum distillation.

The producer’s GSM page documents alcohol removal and links to its winemaking account, which names vacuum distillation. The production facts have evidence of their own; the score requires a separate firsthand tasting.

Production type and removal method

Dealcoholized means a cited source shows alcohol was removed from an alcoholic liquid. A named technique—vacuum distillation, spinning cone column, reverse osmosis, or another documented process—explains how that removal happened. A source can establish removal while leaving the technique unnamed.

Alternative describes a drink built as a nonalcoholic analogue from the start. Naturally low alcohol finishes at or below 0.5% ABV without a separate removal step; arrested fermentation is one such approach. Hybrid combines production approaches or dealcoholized material with other defining nonalcoholic ingredients. Standard must back-addition after removal stays dealcoholized.

How is alcohol removed from wine? explains the removal processes. The method pages connect documented techniques to bottles in the cellar.

How we handle missing or conflicting facts

We leave a gap visible rather than turn a marketing term into a manufacturing fact.

0.0% is printed when a cited source states it. “Alcohol-free” or “nonalcoholic” alone does not establish that number.
Undeclared ABV means no citable number. A new product needs a sourced ABV at or below 0.5% before publication.
Undeclared on the method line means no specific technique has been established. It does not choose a process for us.
Unclassified means we cannot place the production approach. A low ABV alone does not distinguish alcohol removal from limited fermentation.
Withheld means an on-record refusal or deliberate secrecy. Undeclared means the available research has not established the fact. These describe disclosure, separately from production type.

If sources disagree, we record both claims and their sources. We do not average two ABVs or select a machine because it sounds plausible. A source that disappears also leaves an evidence gap; its historical claim does not become newly verified.

The site’s scope is drinks at or below 0.5% ABV. Labeling rules differ by jurisdiction, so a country’s permitted wording does not supply a missing product fact.

The Dry List is a monthly note: three bottles, one verified claim, and one worth buying. Get the monthly list.