Fine aroma, full body… no units: has alcohol-free wine’s moment arrived?
Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger was well aware of the incongruities when she launched French Bloom in 2021. She had worked at the gastronomy bible of the Michelin Guide before marrying Rodolphe Frerejean-Taittinger, scion of the Taittinger Champagne dynasty, and now here she was, launching an alcoholic beverage. -complimentary sparkling wine – at La Grand Épicerie de Paris in Le Bon Marché, one of the city's most prestigious dining rooms.
“What a blasphemy to launch in wine country! We never thought France would be an important market for French Bloom,” she says. “But we were speechless at the reception. It exceeded all expectations: in the first three months we sold more than 10,000 bottles.”
Since then, the global non-alcoholic beverage market has grown dramatically, spurred in part by the 'mindful drinking' and 'sober curiosity' movements of recent years. But while beer was the undisputed winner of 2023 – accounting for 56% of the 'nolo' market, while leading brand Guinness 0.0 posted 142% growth – wine has always been a tougher market to crack. Can you really make a good-tasting non-alcoholic or low-alcohol wine?
2024 should bring some answers, with experts predicting that wine will be the new focus of nolo drink makers for the foreseeable future. This is partly due to a change in UK law which now allows drinking any drink with an alcohol content of less than 8.5% by volume. be labeled as wine rather than as a “wine-based drink”. But the main driver was the major improvement in vinification.
Nolo wine is typically made using one of two processes – reverse osmosis and vacuum distillation – which often removes the aroma and body. The first attempts at 0% wine overcame this with lots of sugar and additives, but now the processes have been refined and improved, a feat that is reflected in sales. These refined nolo drinks account for 13% of low-alcohol beverage sales. Wines are now being launched in every price range and for every occasion – from a party to an everyday drink.
Wednesday's Domaine, the name of the brand of British entrepreneur Luke Hemsley, is a reference to keeping the midweek alcohol-free. He founded the brand in 2021 and his red and white wines are based on alcohol-free Spanish wines combined with natural flavors. He reports that sales increased by 74% between the second and third quarters of 2023.
Hemsley says: “Demand is growing consistently throughout the year, breaking out of the traditional no-lo sales periods such as Dry January. Consumption patterns are also changing, with more products being purchased in pubs and restaurants as choosing lower ABV options becomes mainstream.”
Laura Willoughby is the founder of the conscious drinking community Club Soda and runs a tasting room and shop selling a wide range of nolo beers, spirits and wine in Covent Garden, London. “Wine is now our fastest-selling category,” she says. “Our customers were put off by the old supermarket own brands, but the new wines mainly come from independent companies that work directly with vineyards.
“The non-alcoholic market is booming worldwide and younger people are drinking less wine. So it makes sense that the wine world uses their knowledge and produces something exceptional to pair with food. It just took a little longer than beer because it's a different process.”
The time and financial investment should be worth it, especially in the hospitality industry. “KAM Media found that restaurants are losing £800 million a year by not upgrading their guests from tap water to something they pay for,” says Willoughby.
She cites Noughty as a label that has worked obsessively to find the right vineyard partners, and French company Moderato, which launched in Britain this year, as one of the market's innovators. Moderato has developed a technique to enhance the aroma that is normally lost during dealcoholization. The result is the Le Blanc Moderato Cuvée Révolutionnaire, which launched this month with the promise of a nose of “exotic and white fruit aromas with hints of citrus peel.”
Frerejean-Taittinger says she and her co-founder, Constance Jablonksi, spent two years in research and development and went through more than 70 iterations before they were happy with French Bloom's Le Blanc and Le Rosé.
“The champagne process is the fruit of 400 years of R&D. With premium non-alcoholic sparkling wines, although we use some of the same techniques, we are also developing a new know-how, almost from scratch.”
Taittinger isn't the only household name to enter the nolo wine market. In the mid-range, Freixenet and Jacob's Creek have launched brand extensions, and Provençal vineyard Château La Coste is also launching a premium 0% range next month, following three years of research and development. The range – under the name Nooh By La Coste – was developed based on the Rosé d'une Nuit cuvée. Nolo wine is quickly evolving from a bearable drink to one that is a luxury.
“(We) offer a product that is not only sophisticated, but also promotes a healthy, inclusive celebration,” says Frerejean-Taittinger. “This industry is similar to Silicon Valley, where innovation and disruption are the norm. Sobriety is increasingly seen as a status symbol. It's about a shift that isn't just about health or wellness; it is a statement, a badge of honor.”
Our top three…
Eins Zwei Zero Rosé
(from €6.99, waitrosecellar.com; greatwijn.nl)
From his base in Rüdesheim am Rhein, Johannes Leitz is one of Germany's best and most innovative winemakers. So it's no surprise that he led the way with non-alcoholic wines like this spicy, fresh, bright rosé with pink grapefruit.
Dr Lo Alcohol-free Sparkling Riesling NV
(from €10.99, thegeneralwine.co.uk; henningswine.co.uk)
Perhaps because they are used to working with lower alcohol content in many of their 'normal' wines, German winemakers have really turned to nolo. Here's another top name from the country, Dr Loosen, with an asterisk that hits an authentic Sekt-like spot.
Zeno alcohol-free red
(£9.99, Guard rose)
While many nolo wines are in fact side projects of conventional winemakers, Zeno, set up by an Englishman and Australian but hailing from Spain, has been an alcohol-free zone from the start, and this spicy, juicy berry and quite tannin-filled red is one of the most convincing nolo reds available.
David Williams, Observer wine critic