Instructions: Cheers. Bottoms up. Down that old ho-ho-ho hatch!

Im no holiday party Scrooge. I offer good wine and cocktails at seasonal gatherings in my home. But "mocktails" - luscious drinks without alcohol - are an important part of my beverage menu, too.

Nonalcoholic libations dont need to be a taste-bud yawn.

Designated drivers and folks who dont drink alcohol deserve more than a boring soda water on the rocks or a cola out of a can. So colorful, alcohol-free concoctions are part of the game plan, as is de-alcoholized wine and beer. (For you science buffs, it involves reverse osmosis.)

Ariel (a division of J. Lohr Winery Corp. based in San Jose), is one of the biggest producers. It makes merlot, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, white zinfandel and brut sparkling wine, as well as a generic white and red wines.

Sutter Home makes some, too.

Most of these wines contain less than one half of 1 percent (0.05 percent)

alcohol by volume and are moderately priced. A 98 Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon sells in the $7 range.

Admittedly, the taste of de-alcoholized wines are so-so, but you can use this type of wine to good advantage in wine-based mocktails or hot mulled wine.

Add a splash of cassis (black currant syrup - not creme de cassis, which contains alcohol) to de-alcoholized chardonnay to make kir. Or add a drop or two of cassis to sparkling wine to make a kir royale, or to cabernet to make a cardinal. To make mulled wine, heat eight ounces de-alcoholized cabernet sauvignon or merlot with two whole cloves, a small piece of cinnamon stick, a twist of lemon peel, 1 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of allspice (do not boil); strain into a mug.

Fruit juices combined with bubbly soft drinks or seltzers make glamorous, cold mocktails. Or you can combine those fruit juices with spices, heat and serve piping hot.

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