Less tea, more local ingredients and a distinctive taste: The Austrian producer SIUS has fundamentally refined its still Wine Proxies VIREO and PURPUR. In a conversation with founder Michael, the importance of origin, the role of fermentation and the search for a distinctive identity for non-alcoholic beverages are discussed. A development that shows how much potential is still untapped in the young world of Wine Proxies.
A year of significant change
Sometimes it takes time to find your own distinctive style. A lot has changed at SIUS over the past twelve months.
We have known founder Michael almost as long as kein&low has existed, and therefore his early experiments too. His enthusiasm for this world of beverages was evident from the very beginning. We were delighted by his regular visits, during which he presented new ideas and creations, gathered feedback and refined his beverages little by little.
Today, he produces his Wine Proxies in a small brewery in Ybbs an der Donau. With VIREO and PURPUR, he has now completely reimagined two of his beverages from the ground up. Only the names remain.
However, the founder's professional background is not in the beverage industry. After studying environmental and bioresource management and gaining initial work experience, he discovered his passion for brewing and fermenting. After a pivotal visit to kein&low at the Wiener Markterei, his self-brewed beer, ginger beer and kombucha inspired him to produce his own non-alcoholic specialty beverages.
"I went home really euphoric and somehow had the feeling: Hey, I know what I want to do now and which direction I want to go," he tells us in the interview.
What followed were countless experiments, the first finished products, a launch at Gault&Millau and listings in restaurants such as JOLA and Mraz & Sohn. Above all, however, it was an intense year full of new experiences.
But why change a product line that has only just been introduced?
"I think I simply made a huge leap forward this year. I continued to try things out and then realized for myself: There is still so much more potential."
© kein&low
Less tea, more origin
One of the most striking changes in the new SIUS line is the conscious move away from tea as the basis for fermentation.
In the initial recipes, tea played a central role. However, this was not necessarily because it was associated with particularly good things, but because tea traditionally forms the basis of kombucha production. Over time, and after a conversation with Roman Sydorenko, among others, he began to question this approach. Why work with ingredients whose origin and flavour differences he himself only knew to a limited extent?
"Tea was never really something I spent a lot of time thinking about. I used it for kombucha production simply because it was just part of the process."
Today, local herbs, leaves, pine needles and fruits take centre stage in the recipes instead of imported teas. Ingredients he can identify more strongly with and whose properties he understands better.
"It simply felt better to take the step towards more local products. Towards products I can identify with."
This is not exclusively about regionality, but also about developing a distinctive taste identity from your own ingredients.
From our perspective, this development is immediately noticeable in the taste. The new Proxies seem more balanced, more elegant and less defined by obvious fermentation aromas. Fruit, acidity, herbs and tannins are more clearly perceptible, without any single component dominating the entire beverage.
Less fermentation flavour does not mean less fermentation
Anyone who tries the new beverages might initially assume that fermentation has been significantly reduced. In fact, it still plays a crucial role, but is now used differently.
"Fermentation gives both drinks a completely different dimension once again. You don't get the aroma and complexity that result from this by simply combining infusions with fruit juices and botanicals."
Especially with PURPUR, the red Proxy, fermentation is essential to the character of the beverage. Two fermentation phases are used here: First, an herbal base is fermented. After adding the other ingredients, a second fermentation follows. This creates aromas that the producer himself describes as quite wine-like.
The fact that this process is not always easy to control is one of the challenges of his work. Unlike tea, pure herbal infusions provide less nutrients to the fermentation cultures.
So fermentation has by no means disappeared. It remains a central tool with which structure, depth and aromatic complexity are deliberately developed.
© SIUS
Why SIUS focuses on still Wine Proxies
Anyone who tries their way through today's world of premium non-alcoholic beverages will encounter carbonation remarkably often. Sparkling Teas, kombucha and also a large proportion of Wine Proxies rely on effervescence to create freshness, liveliness and mouthfeel.
SIUS has taken a different path so far. VIREO and PURPUR are still. And that is precisely what makes them particularly interesting to us. Without the support of carbonation, mouthfeel, structure and aromatic length must be created in a different way.
The producer sees this as an advantage, especially when it comes to versatile food pairing.
"I simply believe that still products work better for food pairing. This will certainly not be the case everywhere, but food pairing is a very important part of SIUS."
There is another practical aspect: With still beverages, the drinking experience does not change after opening due to escaping carbonation. You can also pour a glass the following days without having to do without the originally intended effervescence. The founder is correspondingly satisfied with the taste stability of his beverages after opening. An advantage for gastronomy as well as for enjoying at home.
In the long term, however, Michael does not want to focus exclusively on still beverages. A first Sparkling Proxy is already in the planning stages.
© kein&low
VIREO: Floral lightness and the art of omission
A light Wine Proxy with pear, herbs, verjus and hops.
Of the two new beverages, VIREO was the greater challenge during development. The goal was an accessible, floral and elegant Proxy that immediately brings joy without overwhelming the palate.
The path there was longer than expected. New herbs or additional ingredients were added again and again to enhance certain aromas. But instead of more expression, the opposite increasingly emerged: The individual components overlapped.
"The more you put in, the more you push everything down. Nothing can truly stand out on its own."
Only with the reduction of ingredients and a new weighting of their proportions did the desired balance emerge.
Today, blackberry leaves and lemon verbena form the essential herbal base. Pine needles and lemon thyme bring fine woody and spicy notes, while some elderflower enhances the floral character. Ripe pears provide fruit and body. Verjus contributes acidity and tannins and supports the wine-like character. Hops complement the beverage with a surprisingly tropical aroma and subtle bitterness. The use of hops thus recalls the producer's beginnings as a brewer.
"Hops are so versatile and can bring in so many aromas. I wanted to work with that from the very beginning."
The result is a light Proxy whose ingredients come through more clearly and complement each other in taste.
PURPUR: A still red Proxy with structure and depth
Dark berries, regional herbs and a second fermentation.
While VIREO is characterized above all by floral aroma and lightness, PURPUR pursues a different taste direction. The goal was a red Proxy with a pronounced mouthfeel, fruit and a woody-earthy structure. A beverage that can be drunk with food as naturally as a light red wine. In the first recipe, beetroot played an important role. Although it brought interesting aromas, it dominated the taste too much.
"Beetroot is a super cool ingredient, but it takes over so much of the beverage and actually overshadows everything else."
It was therefore omitted in the new version. Instead, elderberry, aronia and blackcurrant are used. While blackcurrant contributes a lively fruit acidity, aronia provides distinctive tannins and structure.
Raspberry leaves and spruce needles form the basis of the fermentation, complemented by rosemary and thyme. Dandelion root brings an additional, slightly nutty, almost roasted dimension. The second fermentation after the addition of the fruit juices is particularly interesting. It provides further aromatic complexity and an additional wine-like character.
And how would Michael describe PURPUR to a wine lover? He makes an interesting comparison: Vernatsch, a light red wine variety from South Tyrol. Not necessarily in terms of taste, but in terms of the basic drinking experience.
PURPUR combines fruit, structure and a certain depth, but remains light and pleasantly flowing.
Wine Proxy instead of Pinot Noir or Chardonnay?
What actually happens when we place a PURPUR next to a Pinot Noir?
Of course, they are two different beverages. They consist of different ingredients, are made using different methods and develop their aromas in different ways. And yet there is one similarity that is crucial for us: Both can play a comparable role at the table. That is exactly what matters at SIUS.
"It has always been important to me that my products are not about not containing alcohol. Of course, that is an important point. But it should simply be about the taste."
If a good wine does not impress through its alcohol content alone, but through its fruit, acidity, texture and character, why should a Wine Proxy then be judged by fundamentally different criteria?
The idea behind this is simple: Both beverages should be able to be enjoyed on equal footing. Not automatically reach for wine because it is the socially established standard, but try both and then decide which one tastes better.
So a Wine Proxy should not be an alcohol-free Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, ...
But it should be able to deserve the same attention and appreciation.
