FOCUS: Raising a glass to zero alcohol wine

Sunday 31 October 2021

It sounds so simple – no alcohol in your glass of wine equals having a clear head afterwards. It’s one of the reasons why the market for non-alcoholic drinks is set to skyrocket in the next few years.

No longer just for the designated driver, zero alcohol drinks are rapidly improving in quality. That’s what Emma Harper realised when she was looking for decent wine which didn’t have the customary unwanted effects of most alcoholic drinks.

When she saw there was very little choice, she launched Clarity Wines in July. Express found out more...

Pictured: "I went out to try and find non-alcoholic alternatives and saw that there wasn't a great choice. I said to myself that someone should be doing this, and I woke up one morning and decided I'd do it and set up an online business."

Getting lost is all part of it. Even for Jersey-born Emma Harper, there are still plenty of roads she is discovering when she is out delivering orders from the boot of her car.

“If I have to go out east, I haven’t got a clue,” she laughs, describing herself as a ‘westie.’ “Anybody in England would never believe we have roads here we’ve not been down. One of my first learning curves was having directions built into the online order form on my website.”

But that steep learning curve is part of setting up a business from scratch. In Emma’s case it all began during lockdown. 

“I wanted to cut down on the amount of alcohol I was drinking, as a lot of people were. So, I went out to try and find non-alcoholic alternatives and saw that there wasn’t a great choice. I said to myself that someone should be doing this, and I woke up one morning and decided I’d do it and set up an online business.”

Pictured: "“Since launching I have met so many people that don’t drink. I have been to 140 houses since I started in July and all of those people don’t want to drink."

It sounds simple, but what Emma, who’s background has been working in the hospitality industry for 20 years, knew was that those non-alcoholic wines needed to be ones that she would happily drink.

“My criteria for them being on my site is that I’ve tried them, and I like them. They are not too syrupy or sweet. It was quite a long time putting them together, but it had to work. As soon as I started looking further it became evident that this was a rapidly growing market. If you look at how other countries are dealing with it, such as Australia where all the restaurants have non-alcoholic wines on their wine list. New York and London have non-alcoholic wine bars opening up and there’s beers and non-alcoholic cocktails.”

And that’s good news for those that want an alcoholic drink but can’t or don’t want to deal with some of the effects they have. Where previously it was the designated driver who was on the orange juice or low-alcohol beer, now more and more people are choosing the zero-booze alternative. 

“Since launching I have met so many people that don’t drink. I have been to 140 houses since I started in July and all of those people don’t want to drink. It doesn’t make them feel good, but they still want to look like they are joining in with everyone else. And with a non-alcoholic drink they can.”

Pictured: "When people are trying these wines, I say to them have an open mind. Don’t think ‘it’s got to taste like wine, oh it doesn’t, therefore it’s not good.’"

What may not be immediately obvious is how the product is made. You have to start with a normal wine and then extract the booze. How that is done will affect the quality of the finished product, with cheaper wines having sugar added to make up for the lack of alcohol, while better quality ones will use more sophisticated processes, such as cold filtering or reverse osmosis.

That sounds all well and good, but without the main ingredient, can it ever be the same? 

“There’s a general feeling out there that non-alcoholic wine isn’t good. The problem is it’s not the same as an alcoholic wine, it can’t be. In a wine the alcohol makes up a much larger percentage than it does in a beer. So, you’re really going to notice the difference. When people are trying these wines, I say to them have an open mind. Don’t think ‘it’s got to taste like wine, oh it doesn’t, therefore it’s not good.’ But think of it as a nice drink to have with food, a nice alternative to alcohol. I think in a direct comparison with alcoholic and non-alcoholic by someone who drinks and is trying it, they won’t like it. But people who don’t drink are determined they are going to like it because they want to have that option, and they generally do.” 

For many entrepreneurs, balancing other commitments or other jobs means working ridiculous hours, especially when starting out. Emma is juggling multiple jobs plus three children, so 05:00 starts are the norm although not part of the plan. And she is hoping to cut back on the current seven-day week as the business develops. 

For now, it’s a case of responding to online orders quickly from the boot of her car. Our willingness to use online platforms for locally delivered products during lockdown has helped.

“I’m impatient,” she admits. “If I order online, I want it quickly. So that was one of the things I had to do because we all got very used to that during the pandemic. It’s a new business and I am enjoying putting the hours in, but I have recognised it is at the cost of my downtime with my partner and my kids. But I am phasing some of my other jobs out, as things progress.”

Pictured: “I think the stigma of not drinking is being removed now because everyone used to immediately think you were a recovering alcoholic. It’s now become more accepted, rather like vegans and gluten-free."

Emma describes herself as an ideas person. She’s always trying something new and for those that know her, it’s probably no surprise that she has found something like this to throw her energies into.

“I didn’t tell a lot of people to start with, because I didn’t want the reaction of ‘what is she doing now?’ Actually, they are all saying I’ve got it right this time and while my friends have been brilliant, so have my kids and sometimes my partner runs around driving me. People believe now that I can do it. To start with they were humouring me, and when they saw what I was doing and how the products were walking out of the door, they said ‘ok, it works’.”

While wanting to extol the virtues of the alternatives, Emma does still enjoy what she calls a ‘proper alcohol drink’ every now and then as she says it’s not something she misses. 

“I think the stigma of not drinking is being removed now because everyone used to immediately think you were a recovering alcoholic. It’s now become more accepted, rather like vegans and gluten-free. Those choices are now on every menu and that’s where I want to get to. The beers and non-alcoholic mojitos are there, but the wine is still missing.”

This article first appeared in Connect Magazine, which you can read online HERE.