The sustained popularity of non-alcoholic beverages is nothing new, however, not all alternatives are created equal.
While alcohol-free beer and spirits have found major success in the no-alcohol (NA) space, my experience with non-alcoholic wine – and the feedback from most of my industry colleagues – has been overwhelmingly negative.
So, with articles like this recent Forbes piece singing the praises of its alleged boom, what do numbers actually look like for business owners? And, above all, why does the quality of NA wine pale in comparison to other alcohol-free alternatives?
Five industry professionals share their sales, stats, and general thoughts on why the NA wine scene is trailing – and it turns out "booming" might not be an accurate description.
Struggle for structure
Paul Brady, founder of Beacon, New York retailer and tasting room Paul Brady Wine, explains that alcohol plays a major role in the balance of wine – and without it, the result is generally off.
"In my first WSET class over 15 years ago, I was taught that everything we crave in wine flavor-wise has to do with alcohol," he says, describing alcohol as the glue that holds a wine's structure together. "Without it, you need something to distract from the otherwise unpleasant, bitterness of tannins and acidity,” he says, adding that said "something" is pretty impossible to recreate.
Rebecca Boyd, director of wine at Total Wine & More, echoes this, stating that wine is inherently the most difficult beverage to replicate without alcohol.
"Alcohol contributes body, texture, and complexity, which are foundational to wine's overall taste," she says, noting that removing alcohol, particularly in red wine, creates a greater taste gap when compared to alcoholic wine or other NA alternatives. Boyd finds that the overall quality of NA wine is improving, though admits that it's difficult to replicate without the backbone of alcohol.
Production problems
Max Glenn, beverage manager at Philadelphia restaurant Picnic, finds that the production methods used to create non-alcoholic wine are a big reason why its success falls short in comparison to other alternatives.
"In most NA wine cases, the wine is de-alcoholized; while this production method is effective, it's centered around removing elements from the wine, not building it up from scratch as an NA product," he says. Similarly, Glenn cites that contrary to non-alcoholic wine, which is often produced in the same winery as their alcoholic counterparts, non-alcoholic beer and spirits are frequently made and marketed in their own dedicated facilities, resulting in greater attention and care on the NA items as the sole focus of production.
Beyond methods used, Kristina Marrero, wine director at Grace & Rose Restaurant in Paso Robles, also cites a lack of ingredient choices compared to beer and spirits alternatives.
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