Alcohol-free wine, the new star of Dry January?
Why did you integrate “alcohol-free” into your training at the School of Wines and Spirits?
Over the past few years, I have observed a profound change in behavior. Consumers do not reject wine or spirits, but they seek to reconcile pleasure and health. “Alcohol-free” meets this expectation. For professionals in the sector, whether they are sommeliers, wine merchants or creators of alcohol-free cellars, it is essential to understand this culture.
That’s to say ?
Alcohol-free is part of a chosen, elegant, deeply French form of sobriety. It is not a question of giving up pleasure, but of rethinking it. Taste, shared time, conviviality remain at the heart of the experience. Simply, alcohol is no longer the only vector.
How do you perceive the current craze for alcohol-free products?
This is not a passing fad. It’s a cultural shift. Alcohol-free products respond to a profound change in behavior. Today, there is an appetite for consuming differently: controlling consumption for health, philosophical, religious reasons, avoiding excess, varying pleasures. It’s a new grammar of taste.
Beer seems to have opened the way…
Alcohol-free beer was indeed a pioneer in this sector. She was able to offer technically advanced and tastefully acceptable products. She accustomed the public to the idea that a festive drink could exist without alcohol.
What other drinks are affected today?
The universe is now vast: dealcoholized wines, cocktails, semi-fermented drinks, teas… We speak of “tasting drinks” rather than “gastronomic”, because these are not only drinks served at the table, but also during festive and convivial moments. This proliferation of alcohol-free products requires a global approach.
Does Dry January play a driving role in this evolution of uses?
Yes, clearly. Dry January (read the box at the end of the article) acts as a revealer. It encourages us to ask questions about our consumption, about our relationship with the body, with pleasure, with the pace of life. But it would be a mistake to reduce the phenomenon to a simple month without alcohol. What we are observing is a lasting transformation of uses, which extends well beyond a simple one-off challenge. It reflects a collective awareness. And this also affects festive moments, food and drink pairings, gastronomy.
On December 4, 2025, the European Union officially recognized the name “alcohol-free wine” (read box at end of article). Is this a turning point?
This is a very strong signal which provides a clear framework for a booming sector. Until now, there was a form of legal and symbolic vagueness. From now on, the market is legitimized and structured. This will accelerate its development.
The wine codes seem to have been adopted without the alcohol-free sector…
Effectively. Brands and producers of non-alcoholic drinks have adopted the codes of wine: elegant bottles, careful labels, sensory vocabulary, technical sheets, food and drink pairings. The alcohol-free sector has seized it to offer a qualitative experience, not a simple substitute.
You talk about “French sobriety”. What does this mean?
France values time spent at the table, service rituals, conviviality. Alcohol-free is part of this culture. It is becoming a lifestyle marker, worn by young, urban, CSP+ consumers, sensitive to gastronomy and the French art of living.
Sobriety and tradition: how are drinks with and without alcohol balanced?
In any case, I don’t see it as an opposition, but as a cohabitation. Wine and spirits will remain cultural mainstays, but they now share the table with non-alcoholic alternatives. We are seeing the emergence of a society where consumption becomes flexible: some days with alcohol, others without. This is the logic of “flexi drinkers”, comparable to flexitarians, those who favor a vegetarian diet while limiting their meat consumption. This approach reflects a more conscious vision, where pleasure does not disappear but diversifies. Quality takes precedence over quantity, experience over excess. Alcohol-free is therefore not a renunciation, it is an opening.
