Partner Content: Tomorrow Cellars
While non-alcoholic and low-alcohol wines accounted for the only growth in the US wine market in 2024, they still face challenges breaking through on-premise. Restaurants may carry non-alcoholic wines, but often reserve them for mocktails—or, if offered by the glass or bottle, exclude them from the main wine list and instead relegate them to a separate “non-alcoholic” section.
At Tomorrow Cellars, part of our mission is to make non-alcoholic wines just as accessible and celebrated as traditional wines. In our ideal world, these wines would appear directly on a restaurant’s wine list, alongside the non-alcoholic section, giving diners the option to order a glass for themselves or a bottle for the table from a diverse, high-quality selection.
While this future is within reach, there are still a few key opportunities for non-alcoholic wine brands and on-premise accounts to address together to help make it a reality.
Education and Buy-In
Getting your non-alcoholic wine on a restaurant or bar menu is a great first step, but ensuring it gets poured is where the real opportunity lies. Even when a decision-maker is excited to bring in a non-alcoholic option, it doesn’t always translate to the floor team feeling confident or motivated to recommend it.
This presents a valuable opportunity: by building relationships across the account and engaging directly with waitstaff, brands can demystify non-alcoholic wine, correct common misconceptions about taste and quality, and turn staff into advocates. Tasting sessions, including training on how alcohol-removed wine is made and clear answers to the most common guest questions, can go a long way in generating excitement (and sales).
Out of the Box and Onto the List
Too often, when a restaurant offers a non-alcoholic wine, it’s tucked away in a boxed-off “NA” section, separate from the main wine list. While we support an easy way for guests to find non-alcoholic options of all kinds, we believe non-alcoholic wine deserves a place on the wine list, right alongside its traditional counterparts.
Some restaurateurs may worry about cannibalizing wine sales or lowering check sizes. But here’s the reality: if a guest has decided to forgo alcohol, or alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks that night, that decision was made before they sat down. Offering a quality non-alcoholic wine doesn’t take away from a sale; it enhances it. A glass of non-alc wine drives a higher check value than a soda or iced tea and delivers a more elevated dining experience.
Including non-alcoholic options on the wine list also signals to guests that what’s in their glass is just as thoughtful, flavorful, and complex as any traditional wine, fostering inclusivity without compromising on quality.
Changing Minds, One Sip at a Time
Many in the wine and restaurant world remain skeptical of nonalcoholic wines. We get it—change is hard, and early versions of non-alc wine didn’t always leave the best impression. However, if you truly believe in your product, as we do, the most effective way to shift those attitudes is straightforward: get it to the lips.
Being in the market, having conversations, and encouraging people to taste for themselves is the most powerful way to change minds. Today’s non-alcoholic wines are a world apart from what came before. The more people experience that firsthand, the more the category will grow.
With continued education, thoughtful placement, and a focus on quality, we’re confident that non-alc wine can take its rightful place on the list.
