Spark

A note of honesty first, the same one that belongs on its sibling Sharp: Spark is not wine, and it does not pretend to be. This is Blurred Vines' alcohol-free sparkling, made for the evenings when you want something proper in the glass and no alcohol in it.

What makes the Blurred Vines range work is that they gave up trying to imitate wine. The drinks are built from tea and botanicals rather than de-alcoholised grape juice, so they taste of something in their own right instead of tasting like an absence. That is the trap most of this category is still stuck in.

Spark pours pale gold with a fine, quick bead. The character is crisp and citrus-led, dry rather than sweetened to compensate, with a light bitter grip on the finish doing the job tannin would do in a wine. It leaves your mouth refreshed rather than coated, which is the honest test of anything made this way.

At £15 this is the bottle to keep cold for whoever is driving, pregnant, off it for the month, or simply not drinking tonight. Pour it into the same glass as everyone else's.

How to Serve

Very cold, 6 to 8°C. A wine glass rather than a flute, and treat it like any other bottle — open it at the table.

Where to Drink It

Brat in Shoreditch, where nobody will make you feel odd for not drinking. Planque in Haggerston, which takes the whole list seriously including this end of it. The Wolseley for breakfast, where it is arguably the better choice anyway.

Food Pairings

It handles food better than most things in this category. Salted almonds and olives before dinner, or anything fried, where that acidity earns its keep.