Beyond Wine: How Gastronomic Juices are Reshaping Fine Dining
Photo: Acala makes four different sparkling teas, all sorted for great gastronomical purposes
Sponsored article from NOLO Collective.
While juice pairings began as an option for the few guests who didn’t drink alcohol, offering a high-quality non-alcoholic pairing is now crucial to accommodate the ever-rising demand from selective, knowledgeable guests who don’t want a less interesting beverage experience despite opting out of alcohol. Luckily, a wide range of high-quality no- and low-alcohol bottled beverages has emerged in recent years.
In recent years, the culinary world has witnessed a significant shift towards non-alcoholic beverage options, particularly in fine dining. Non-alcoholic options are no longer just for pregnant women or designated drivers. Today, many guests skip alcohol for various reasons, driven by a broader movement toward health and conscious consumption.
Leading Danish restaurants were among the first to introduce highly complex juice pairings, offering tailored non-alcoholic beverages to accompany each dish. While initially a rarity, guests in fine dining restaurants now expect a highly curated selection of beverages alongside their meals.
Excellent Ready-to-Pour Options
With the increased demand, a whole new range of high-quality non-alcoholic beverages has emerged, including delicious alcohol-free beers, dealcoholized wines and spirits, and so-called proxies—unique products crafted as non-alcoholic from the start, offering complex alternatives to wine.
“The amount of new products entering the market in recent years is remarkable, and today, it is absolutely possible to offer premium non-alcoholic beverages to your guests. I truly admire the creativity and high skills that go into making a non-alcoholic juice pairing from scratch, as we see in top restaurants in Denmark. However, I also acknowledge all the labor that goes into creating these beverages, often requiring at least one person from the service team to prepare them daily. On top of that, you have the short shelf life, which may make these pairings barely profitable. With the increasing number of excellent ready-to-pour products available, I highly encourage all the talented sommeliers in our lovely restaurants to explore them,” says Søren Kirketerp, founder of NOLO Collective, a leading importer and distributor of non-alcoholic beverages in the Nordics.
Also for Fine Wine Lovers
Interestingly, non-alcoholic beverages are far from being reserved for people who don’t enjoy fine wine. On the contrary, high-end alcohol-free beverages seem to appeal significantly to this particular segment, according to a producer of high-quality sparkling teas.
“Acala was founded by people who love fine wine and have worked in that industry for a long time. Our internal research shows that over 90% of clients who buy Acala sparkling tea are fine wine lovers,” says Kristina Petraviciute, Export Manager & Brand Ambassador for Acala, an organic sparkling tea producer located in Lithuania.
The sparkling teas by Acala go through a long, natural fermentation process before being released
According to her, these consumers recognize and appreciate the complexity that sparkling teas provide.
“The nine-month-long, complex production process, similar to the method used for non-vintage Champagne, helps create Acala sparkling teas that resemble fine wines in style. The teas are fermented in over 100 different vessels for an average of six months, then blended with freshly brewed tea, botanicals, and various berry and fruit juices. They have the same acidity and sugar levels as dry wine, refined tannins from the tea, and complexity from diverse botanicals and aged fermented teas, some aged in wine barrels, e.g., from Hermitage,” Kristina Petraviciute explains.
All Acala's sparkling teas are carefully handcrafted.
Acala Sparkling Tea currently make four different sparkling teas:
Rosé is excellent with sashimi, ceviche, and oysters.
White is the most versatile, pairing well with white fish, poultry, creamy mushroom dishes, light green curries, or hard mature cheeses.
Red is particularly loved by sommeliers because there are few non-alcoholic options that can replace red wine when pairing with meat or heavier dishes. However, Acala Red pairs wonderfully with duck, beef, or blue cheese.
Mimosa-style is perfect for brunches, grilled prawns with mango salads, and smoked salmon with avocado bagels.
“The idea of using beets comes from a desire to rediscover and restore dignity to humble, forgotten, and ‘dirty’ ingredients—just like the beet itself.”
New Ingredients at the Forefront
One of the most intriguing aspects of the proxy category is the limitless potential when selecting ingredients. Feral, a small producer of unique gastronomic juices based in the Dolomites, has found great promise in white and red beets.
Feral offers four different beet-based beverages made to bring the same excitement to the table as a great wine.
“The idea of using beets comes from a desire to rediscover and restore dignity to humble, forgotten, and ‘dirty’ ingredients—just like the beet itself. We chose to work with an overlooked ingredient specifically to elevate it through fermentation and infusion with spices, roots, and woods. Not all future Feral recipes will necessarily feature red or white beets, but they will definitely stay true to this philosophy,” says Silvia Benigni from Feral.
Feral, which is served at the three Michelin-starred Atelier Moessmer in Northern Italy, offers both a white and a red version, each displaying impressive complexity suitable for a wide range of dishes. The company exemplifies how new producers of non-alcoholic beverages continue to push boundaries.
“We are still very young, with a long road ahead and, most importantly, so much to learn. Maybe that’s exactly what gives us a unique energy: we’re constantly driven to explore, to understand, to ask questions. Research and development have been part of Feral since day one, and they will continue to be,” Silvia Benigni says.
Feral also makes four different types of beet-based beverages ranging from a refreshing white to a full-bodied white leading to a lighter style red and finally a full-bodied red.
Feral No. 3 is a great alternative to elegant red wines. Its base is red beets infused with pepper and thyme.
Good for Business
Whereas a guest choosing water instead of wine can be a financial drawback for a restaurant, being able to offer a complete non-alcoholic alternative can help compensate for the decreasing demand for wine while improving overall profitability.
“I am sure any sommelier is aware of the importance of a solid beverage sales revenue, and with the increasing number of interesting and unique bottled products from small producers around the world, it becomes much easier for staff to offer excellent non-alcoholic options to their guests while also reducing the volume of labor-intensive homemade juices,” Søren Kirketerp says.
