Whisper it – alcohol-free wine has arrived in France

In the vineyards of Bordeaux, the incredible has become the drink. Alcohol-free wine has arrived.

Yesterday’s heresy is now – thanks to science and economic problems – today’s opportunity.

Wineries that would have burned their grapes instead of blushing, are now openly considering a non-alcoholic bottle.

And producers are moving forward quickly, creating wines that are purpose-built to get the most out of alcohol addiction.

“When we started a few years ago, what we were producing was pure garbage,” says Frédéric Brochet, a Bordeaux-based botanist, who has helped create a range of Moderato wines.

“But we have made a lot of progress. And today we are getting closer to our goal. I think it will be a revolution in wine.”

Bordeaux has just seen its first launch cave – a wine shop – dedicated to non-alcoholic wines, showing a change in attitude that surprised many in the industry.

“We only opened four weeks ago, and already we are getting winegrowers from the area coming and asking about the alcohol-free market,” says Alexandre Kettaneh, who owns Les Belles Grappes with his wife Anne.

“They don’t know anything about how to do it, but they see it coming and they want to be a part of it.”

Several things have been done to make that time better.

First, the French wine world is in dire straits. Domestic consumption continues to decline and the Chinese market is not what it used to be. US President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose new tariffs. France’s prized old vineyards are being destroyed.

Second, eating habits are changing, especially among young people. Supermarkets now give more space to beer than they do to wine. Most 20-somethings have never had a wine habit – and are more health-conscious than their elders.

Alcoholism is spreading. Currently 10% of the French beer market is non-alcoholic. In Spain it is 25%.

And thirdly – technology has advanced a lot.

In the past – and until now for the cheaper brands – the process has simply been to boil the beer and add flavorings for a fee. The results – especially the red ones – are very good. Such drinks cannot be called wine, but “drinks from still wine”.

Now, there are new ways to reduce the heat of vacuum distillation, and to “capture the aroma” to put it back into the vinegar. The result is wines that can legally call themselves wines, and are becoming popular among discerning consumers.

“With red, you have to be prepared for events that will not be the same as ordinary wine and beer. We can’t pretend that we can repeat, however, the full mouth feel,” said Fabien Marchand-Cassagne of Moderato.

“But what you get is a real moment of wine. Flowers, tannins, fruit, body – it’s worth enjoying.”

At the Clos De Bouard estate near Saint-Emilion, a third of the sales are now two chateaux – soon to be three – non-alcoholic. Owner Coralie de Bouard first looked at the request in 2019 to produce a non-alcoholic wine for the Qatari owners of the PSG football club.

“My family didn’t speak to me for a year, that was my ‘conspiracy’. And even today I receive hate letters from wine growers saying that I am ruining the market,” he says.

“But now my father congratulates me and says that I am the captain of the wine ship. And if we survive these days in this difficult time, it is because we have moved to a market without alcohol.”

“For purists it has been difficult to accept,” says Bernard Rabouy, winegrower of Bordeaux Families.

“But we have to change. The truth is that the customers are not where they were before. So we have to go get them or they will go somewhere else.”

Proponents of alcohol-free wine strongly believe that it allows non-drinkers – who felt left out – to get involved in alcohol-free wine. And it is true that the rituals of opening, smelling, describing and comparing are now open to all.

“What we want to do is try to bring back the France of our youth – when everyone sat around the table and drank wine, and it was a real time to share,” says Anne Kattaneh.

“And these days the only way we can do that is if alcohol-free wine is part of the culture.”

“The idea that the world of wine is the way it is now is rubbish,” says scientist Brochet.

“Things change. Back then the barrel was new. Nkhata Bay was new; the grape varieties were new. And now this is new – which can help save the industry and the wonderful place and culture that goes with it. .

“Like [poet] Paul Valery said – what is tradition, but art that has done well?