ZENO: ‘Happiness is a good flow of life’

We’re delighted to showcase ZENO as our award-winning Alcohol-Liberated Wine Company of the Month

There’s a new gold rush in town and it isn’t a Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon.

Industry experts at IWSR recorded the near-doubling of low-alcohol sales during 2023 and predict a considerable future growth market. In particular, the low and no-alcohol wine category is flourishing and there’s a frontrunner that’s taken the industry by storm:

Introducing ZENO

ZENO was the brainchild of David Hodgson, a hospitality and wine trade expert, who after years of drinking wine made a steadfast commitment to alcohol-free drinking. The tricky part though was the social exclusion: nobody wants to miss out on those wine-drinking rituals with colleagues or family and friends. With this in mind, David set out on a quest to discover alcohol-free wines fit for wine aficionados. Once fellow wine trade professional Will Willis was on board, the dynamic duo took a three- year R&D sabbatical to explore viable R&D options. The icing on the cake was legendary expert Jane Masters: Master of Wine (MW) joining the team and executing her prolific technical and commercial knowledge, driving the research into more scientific territory.

In 2022, the wait was over and ZENO alcoholliberated wines were born.

Handcrafted vineyards to glass: viticultural pedigree

Spanish vineyards are world-class, noted for their enviable topography, climate and winemaking practices. ZENO wines are harvested from temperate central Spain vineyards, renowned for high altitude, helping produce market-leading wines from a range of terroirs.

The range of five ZENO wines begin life in organically-grown vines surrounded by panoramic views of rolling green hills, and ancient almond orchards. Only the best fruit is selected at harvest time, primed for the dealcoholisation process. Using state of the art technology, the wines are carefully blended before careful alcohol removal. Only after meticulous further blending and tasting, are the wines then ready to be bottled. Historically, the Spanish vigneron produced only alcoholic wine and even he was surprised by the sheer high-quality of ZENO wines.

The audacity of no-alcohol wines: meeting wellness demand

KAM: the specialist research consultancy for the UK hospitality industry has seen a sustained shift towards alcohol moderation, driven by a variety of factors. These include the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and a concerted move towards holistic wellness. It’s a pattern across all age groups and not just tempered to mid-week drinking. With slang terms like ‘zebra striping’ (alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks) and ‘book ending’ (starting and finishing your evening with a non-alcoholic drink), this is a new movement that has gained momentum and not just as a temporary micro-trend.

For wine bars, pubs and restaurants, this a gift and an opportunity not to be ignored. The KAM report reported that customers automatically default to tap water which is costing the hospitality industry ‘£800 million annually in missed sales.’ Imagine all those corporate lunches stating: ‘we’re not drinking: we have business to discuss’ – instead offering a range of delicious alcohol-free wine can mark the event with ceremony, without the undesirable, boozy side effects.

ZENO wines: Exclusive news

In the first year of trading, ZENO wines were listed in Waitrose and the prestigious Great Taste Awards 2023 (one star) were received for the White, Red & Sparkling NV. Great Taste 2024 gave the Red two stars & Sparkling NV one star – ZENO was the only AF brand to be awarded by this competition. Also in 2024, the awards kept coming including the World Alcohol Free Awards 2024: Gold for the Red and Silver for the White.

“Our full multi-award-winning range includes the ZENO alcohol-liberated White, Red, Rosé, Sparkling NV and Sparkling Rosé NV. We were delighted to be Amathus-listed this year and are also now distributed regionally by Morgenrot in Manchester. In another exciting development, we can exclusively reveal that the premium Fuller’s Pub Group are listing ZENO White, Red & Sparkling now with Rosé to follow in spring. Fuller’s own a collection of stunning, traditional pubs in urban and rural settings: from London Bridge Romsey to Oxford. Our alcohol-liberated wine collection pair excellently with a range of dishes and tapas or can be enjoyed equally without food.

The alcohol-free wine section has never been so dynamic and is now asserting itself as a standalone category. Our organic, vegan ZENO wines can be enjoyed by everyone, from wine industry aficionados, corporate lunch goers to groups of families and friends.” explained David Hodgson: founder of ZENO wines.

To find out more about the multi-award-winning ZENO wine products, contact the sales team today on the details below:M 07730 942015info@zenowine.comhttps://zenowine.comwww.linkedin.com/company/zenowine