PARIS (AP) 鈥� As a French teetotaler, Justine Bobin knows how challenging it can be to not drink in a country where wine, beer and other boozy beverages still lubricate many social interactions, even if France is less hooked on alcohol than it used to be.
鈥淧eople are convinced that you can鈥檛 have fun if you don鈥檛 drink alcohol in France,鈥� she says.
Which is one of the reasons that Bobin trekked up to Paris this week, to check out the growing array of zero- and low-alcohol drinks 鈥� predominantly red, white, ros茅 and sparkling wines from around Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Those products rubbed shoulders with established producers and distillers of all things alcoholic at a major international trade show for the wine and spirits industries.
With slogans championing 鈥渘o alcohol, no regrets, no consequences” and encouraging consumers to “drink different,鈥� producers of so-called no/low beverages are aiming to profit from , in particular those of young adults more mindful of .
In the United States, are reporting that they drink alcohol. In other major international markets, a growing no/low industry is chipping away at .
France’s government is offering to pay wine-makers who agree to rip up their vineyards, to reduce the output of vintages no longer in demand. Dutch drinks giant Heineken this week said it will cut up to 6,000 jobs from its global workforce by 2028, after its beer sales fell last year. But the firm’s portfolio of no/low drinks saw double-digit growth in 18 of its markets.
Bobin, who is Muslim, said can help teetotalers and drinkers of alcohol spend time together. She tasted a variety of non-alcoholic adult beverages at the Wine Paris show, looking for some to sell at her delicatessen shop in France鈥檚 wine-making Burgundy region.
鈥淚t allows us to share a moment with people even without drinking alcohol. So they can drink if they want, but we can still share a drink, toast with them,” she said. “It offers an alternative for everyone and brings people together. It鈥檚 more of a product for inclusion, I think, for people who don鈥檛 drink alcohol, and that鈥檚 great.鈥�
Alcohol consumption in France has plummeted in the last half-century, with many adults dropping the habit of wine with most meals and young people, in particular, generally drinking less and differently than their parents.
Katja Bernegger, who produces alcohol-free wines in Austria, said no/low drinking isn’t a passing fad.
鈥淧eople are more mindful of their body,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you drink today, you probably have a headache tomorrow, and they don鈥檛 want it because you need to function, you have kids, you have a job.鈥�
Bernegger and her partner, a winemaker, started venturing into no-alcohol wines when she was pregnant. She stopped drinking but missed the flavors of wine.
鈥淵ou are standing there with your orange juice or Coke. You are out of it. You have to explain why you don鈥檛 drink,鈥� she said.
鈥淪o you are simply having just half of the fun in life. And that鈥檚 the reason why we need some sophisticated non-alcoholic options.鈥�
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AP journalist Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.
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