28 Day Alcohol Free Challenge | Innovate rather than imitate

What if, rather than falling back on non-alcoholic wines, we let ourselves be tempted by delicious and attractive substitutes that have nothing less? New players in the industry are offering options that are off the beaten path. Let’s raise our glass to a movement that has not finished growing.

Iris Gagnon Paradise
The Press

Although there is now a very large choice of non-alcoholic beers and spirits of the same type are more and more numerous, the market for wines and non-alcoholic bubbles is still little exploited. Finding quality, good-tasting products that are not stuffed with sugar remains a major challenge.

“Wines without alcohol are generally bad wine made even worse, from which the alcohol is removed using an industrial process which also causes the balance, textures and structure of the wine to be lost”, believes Charlie Friedmann, head of the Proxies brand for the Canadian company Acid League.

Founded in 2019 in the Toronto area, Acid League first made a name for itself with its raw, fermented and unfiltered vinegars. It was only natural that the four founders took an interest in non-alcoholic wines, seeing in it an opportunity “to do something more interesting, more modern and which would have its place on restaurant tables”. In short, doing “more” instead of doing “without”, summarizes Mr. Friedmann.

How? ‘Or’ What ? By creating a totally new product, sold in an attractive bottle, whose shimmering colors are reminiscent of those of wine and which borrows certain techniques from the wine world… without being wine strictly speaking.

Inside the pretty bottles are blends of unfermented grape juice (chardonnay, pinot noir, sauvignon…), verjuice (acid juice extracted from immature grapes, supplied by a Niagara vineyard) and aromatics such as roots , herbs, spices, worked with different techniques (hot, cold, bitter infusion, etc.).

Taste ? Don’t expect wine. These juices with a fragrant nose are surprising when tasted. It’s spicy, floral, herbal, vinegary. Some will love it, others will be destabilized, but one thing is certain: we walk here in new paths.

To carry out their project, the founders of the company called on experienced winemaker Devin Campbell. The manufacturing process, although it does not involve fermentation, is similar to that of wine in that it requires blending, tasting and adjustments for each cuvée. Moreover, in addition to its usual range, Proxies offers limited editions each month, which can be purchased by subscribing to its “club”. In January, it is a very first collaboration with chef James Beard who is in the spotlight.

“Our goal is not to recreate the flavors of a specific wine, but to inspire ourselves with what makes a wine a good match with food, by offering products that have depth, flavors, texture, balance… all that is lacking in alcohol-free wines, in short! “laughs the native Montrealer.

An awakening market

“When I stopped drinking four years ago, there were few non-alcoholic products, including some questionable wines at the grocery store,” recalls Marilou Lapointe, founder of the online platform Apéro à Zero. Launched in November 2020, the online platform — to which is added a pop-up store at the Local Espace Collaboratif — has been a great success in Quebec and Canada.

“There has been a real explosion of non-alcoholic products, but the wine market is the one that has the most to improve,” she adds. But things are slowly changing. The owner takes the example of the sparkling rosé French Bloom, made from organic grapes, 100% natural and without added sugar.

“It is more expensive, but people are ready to pay this price”, observes the one who now wants to focus more on the market for wines and non-alcoholic bubbles. “This is the most searched category in the store. I have several new products on the way,” she says, such as the Noughty and Oddbird products, which are very popular in the United States.

Elegance at the table

Ottawa couple Genna Woolston and Andrew Roberts came up with the idea of ​​developing a high-end kombucha presented in an elegant bottle of champagne out of a desire to find interesting non-alcoholic options at the table. “We thought of kombucha, because it is already a fermented product, with notes that you can expect in a wine or a bubble”, explains M^me Woolston, adding that her husband, an agri-food scientist, already had experience blending teas.

And how do you elevate this sparkling drink to new heights? By going back to the source, with a high quality raw material: Silver Swallow tea. This white tea, “the most awarded in China”, is very balanced, with honeyed, herbaceous and floral notes, explains M^me Woolston.

And even if there is a little passion fruit to add a subtle fruity touch in the Silver Swallow — recently available on the Quebec market, while a rosé is coming in the spring — the product does not is not flavored, which makes it a perfect drink to accompany a meal or to make mocktails (mocktails). On tasting, the product instantly charms with its fine bubbles and its delicate taste of tea.

We mainly find on the market kombuchas with fruity and intense flavors, not ideal for pairings at the table. For this reason, Montreal-based Club Kombucha has worked with the grape for the latest limited editions of its Club Select series, which comes in beautiful glass bottles.

Julien Niquet, brother of Claudie Gravel-Niquet, the founder of Club Kombucha, is the owner of the young Joy Hill vineyard, in Estrie. It supplied the marc of Gamay and Chardonnay grapes, the dry residue from the pressing of the fruit, to macerate the cultivation of kombucha. Red and green grape juice from the Loop company was also used, explains Ariane Legault Michaud, interim general manager.

The result: Club Sélect Chardonnay and Club Sélect Gamay, two kombuchas with a subtle and delicate taste. Unfortunately, this first test was not entirely conclusive since the bottles, overcarbonated, were under too much pressure, which forced the Montreal company to withdraw the products from the market, a few days after their launch.

But it’s only a postponement, assures M^me Legault Michaud. “We expect to do it again next year in an improved 2.0 version. A new Club Sélect cuvée, with a more summery feel, should arrive with the good weather. In the meantime, during the 28-day Challenge, you can taste the new passion fruit (in a can) or get the Club Kombucha Rhubarb & Cassis cuvée, offered at Lufa.