I first met Rachel Martin in Virginia some time ago. I knew her when she was involved in local wine on the east coast. Since then, she has gone through several iterations before arriving where she is now. Haven't we all. I recently caught up with her again at the Eastern Winery Exposition 2026 in Richmond, Virginia.
Rachel was raised in California, but started her wine career in Virginia, where she spent more than two decades at her family’s estate, Boxwood Winery. She helped establish Middleburg, as a premier wine-growing region and was instrumental in building the Boxwood brand.
But the call of the west coast beckoned, and on California’s San Luis Obispo Coast, Rachel discovered Spanish Springs Vineyard. Here, she found the perfect convergence of soil, sea, and climate to create Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah wines. At first Oceano made a combination of traditional wines and alcohol reduced wines, The first Oceano release in 2016 was a full fledged Chardonnay.
But, with Oceano Zero, Rachel reimagined fine wine without alcohol, creating a luxury non-alcoholic collection, and with Oceano Ultra, she introduced the first ultra-low-alcohol wine in the U.S.
At the time, many of the reduced-alcohol wines available in the marketplace were not very good. An occasional bottle was acceptable - but in the main disappointing.
Oceano was meant to change all that. Rachel saw an opening in the marketplace -a spot on the high ground people were not chasing - making a high-quality non-alcoholic wine. Now, many people scoff at the non-alcoholic theme. But the market for such products is growing. And just to further the point - the beer industry has successfully made the leap - Athletic, Brooklyn, Sierra Nevada, Heineken, Guinness, and a number of other non-alcoholic brews have been producing terrific beers with little to no alcohol. I remember tasting some of these the first time - saying, this isn't beer. But after trial and error, I found my niche. I found the ones I liked. I mainly drink NA beers now. It can be done.
The reduced alcohol life cannot be denied. There are older folks, aging out, and they need lower alcohol wines; there's the diabetic crowd that also requires lower alcoholic wines (metformin and alcohol do not mix well). And then there are those who are concerned that there's simply too much alcohol in their lives and they want to reduce the noise. Yet they all had one thing in common - the desire to drink something better, something of quality. Something to go with steak or salmon or roasted chicken or vegetables. Something then was missing - but not any more.
I will tell you that I've had Rachel's Chardonnay Ultra Alcohol Wine was further ahead than the red I tried at that time. Loved that high acid. Great flavor. Easy to sip or have with dinner. The category in general moved ahead much further with sparkling and white wines than with reds. That was then. This is now.
At the gala dinner during the expo, Rachel, as promised, brought a bottle of her Oceano Syrah 2023. This is a reduced alcohol wine aged in neutral French oak. An entire bottle of Oceano Ultra-Low Syrah contains the same amount of alcohol as a single glass of traditional wine. 3.5% alcohol and only 2 grams of sugar. Amazing. So I tried some with my roasted chicken and vegetables with Rachel hovering over me. Never a bad thing. While I sampled the wine, Rachel explained to me that Oceano was going in all the way - the first high-end label to offer 100% list of non-alcoholic wines.
The Oceano Ultra Low Alcohol Syrah 2023 was a deep purple color. The nose popped with stewed dark fruits - a compote of blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries, and plum, with a hint of spice and a touch a white pepper. The flavors on the palate included those same stewed fruits with notes of black currant cranberry, and a hint of earthiness with spices and white pepper on the finish, with a great acidity. Well balanced and complex, I was at first skeptical after my first sip. I will admit, my first thought was, "This is not wine." My second thought was, let's give this another chance.
I had a sip of water, and decided to have a bite of my chicken before taking another draw. On the second tasting, I suddenly got it! It went very well with the chicken, and I ended up drinking half the glass (a lot for me these days). I was very pleased. I had begun to find my wine niche - just like I had with beer.
Rachel Martin and Oceano are bringing drinkable wine fine wine to folks who want something to enjoy with their meal that is much lower in alcohol.