Speaking at the event on Wednesday 22 October 2025 at Coin Street Community Centre in Waterloo, London, Atelier Pip drinks consultant Zoe Burgess noted demand for non-alcoholic wine had risen in the past year, particularly among Millennials and older drinkers.
Burgess added this had, in part, been driven by new product development and greater awareness within the segment.
She stressed the importance of visibility and education for pubs looking to increase sales of non-alcoholic wine: “A lot of these products now are designed to look like alcoholic wine, so you can have an alcohol-free wine on the table and nobody would ever know about it, which is a plus, but it means you need to find different ways to communicate the product is there.”
Surprising responses
The drinks consultant also recommended food pairings and tasters to help guests explore the category.
Despite growing demand, Fredericks Wine Company director Will Willis told attendees “scepticism and misunderstanding” remained around the category.
To tackle this, he urged operators to start open conversations with customers: “When they come in and ask for wine, ask them ‘is that with or without alcohol?’ and you will get some surprising responses.”
Willis further encouraged venues to discuss provenance and quality when guests question price points. “For quality, there is a price to pay,” he said. “People seem to accept it with beer and spirits, so we really need to communicate the quality aspect and let the wine do the talking.”
Framing expectations
The director added non-alcoholic wine by the glass was becoming more popular in pubs, advising operators to make these options clear and to offer creative serves such as alcohol-free sangria.
Meanwhile, Moderato co-founder Sebastien Thomas said framing guest expectations was crucial, especially for those anticipating an identical taste to alcoholic wine.
The panel - which also included Jeremias Loock, founder of The Other Bottle - agreed clear menus, open discussion, quality, provenance and innovation were key to help operators introduce sceptical customers to the growing world of alcohol-free wine.
