Can dealcoholized wine be improved? The answer is maybe, or maybe not. Matthew Jukes & Amanda Thomson disagree, industry insiders Imma Cannavo, Harry Crowther & Francoise Mathis set out their wish-lists, and regular contributor James Morgan explains why some alcohol-free wine can taste, well .... terrible! Wine seems to be the poor relation of the no and low drinks world. Unlike non-alcoholic beer, it's not widely considered to offer excellent quality, and it hasn't reached the same levels of awareness and excitement as alcohol-free spirits. Why? Well, there are several reasons, and a few solutions. This episode gathers comments from key industry insiders, and looks at what might come next for de-alcoholised wine. Guests: Matthew Jukes is a world-renowned, award-winning, wine taster, journalist and author. During his 35 years in the wine business, Matthew has worked for BBC Radio and Channel 4 TV, and as well as writing 14 wine books, he has written the most widely-read wine column in the UK, in the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine, for over two decades. Find him on matthewjukes.com. He is also the founder, creator and CEO of Jukes Cordialities jukescordialities.com Amanda Thomson is the CEO and Founder of Thomson & Scott and creator of Noughty premium alcohol-free sparkling Chardonnay and Rosé. Having been brought up on a plant-based, no sugar diet by her health-conscious single mother, Amanda has always had a keen interest in healthy living. After a successful career as an Arts Broadcaster at the BBC, she moved to Paris and studied for her Diploma in Wine at the renowned Le Cordon Bleu School. Find her at http://noughtyaf.com Imma Cannavo is Head Sommelier and Wine Buyer at Oblix. She started her career in 2007 at the Locanda Locatelli, moved to Paris to learn about French wines, then to Dubai where she became Head Sommelier Middle East for Hakkasan Group. She returned to London's Hakkasan Mayfair before joining Oblix. http://oblixrestaurant.com Harry Crowther is founder of Grain to Grape: Modern profitable wine training, specialising in making teams 'wine confident' and increasing profitability of wine lists. He's a contributing writer at The Buyer, and has plenty of experience squishing grapes in NZ and Portugal. Harry also heads up wine buying for Good Pair Days, Australia's fastest growing online wine subscription service, launching in the UK in Nov 2021. Find him at www.grapetimes.co.uk Francoise Mathis has lived in the UK for the last 17 years working with various wholesales across the wine trade and recently joined Indigo Wine as Commercial Director. https://www.indigowine.com James Morgan co-founded the No & Low consultancy Brimful Drinks after a 25-year career in hospitality. He also has a background in both art and research. He has worked with clients including Distill Ventures, Travers Smith, Nine Elms No.18, Better Rhodes and Hakkasan Group. Contact him here james@brimfuldrinks.co.uk Contact:Chrissie Parkinson is The Alcohol-Free Sommelier. Get in touch with your comments, questions and ideas: chris@brimfuldrinks.co.uk
