In this edition of Entre Nous, we explore the rapidly expanding market of non-alcoholic wine. Amanda Thomson, founder and CEO of Noughty, speaks to FRANCE 24 about the factors driving the sector’s success and explains why alcohol-free wine is creating excitement among consumers.
Thomson, a former BBC correspondent turned award-winning entrepreneur with a Champagne taste for innovation, founded Noughty, a premium alcohol-free wine brand, in 2019. She set out to redefine one of France's most cherished institutions with a deceptively radical premise: offering wine lovers across the globe a taste of the good life while always remaining in good spirits. In doing so, she brings a distinctly modern twist to one of the world’s most treasured traditions. Thomson sees herself as an architect of a seismic shift within the wine industry.
Trained under the legendary sommelier Gérard Basset and educated at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Thomson combines deep wine expertise with a sharp understanding of evolving consumer psychology. Her vision emerged from a simple but revealing personal experience: "There was nothing for me to drink when I wasn’t drinking." That observation became what she describes as a "light bulb moment," leading her to realise that "millions of wine lovers around the world were being lost to water."
What makes Thomson particularly compelling is the way she frames alcohol-free wine not as a compromise, but as a sophisticated innovation capable of expanding the wine industry itself. "We’re actually taking market share away from the water business," she argues, insisting that alcohol-free wine is not "some sort of adjunct," but rather "a building block in the wine business." Her focus remains firmly on quality. "We haven’t mimicked," she explains. "We’re making a really good wine to start with. Then we’re de-alcoholising it." The distinction is central to her vision.
Perhaps most strikingly, Thomson presents the rise of alcohol-free wine not as a moral crusade, but as a cultural recalibration driven largely by younger consumers. Gen Z, she suggests, is "letting go of preconceptions" and embracing moderation without stigma. Her description of "zebra stripe drinking", alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages throughout an evening, captures a broader social transition in which wellness and pleasure are no longer treated as adversaries.
Amid all the buzz, one question lingers: will the wine industry embrace alcohol-free wine as the wine of the future?
A programme produced by Amanda Alexander, Marina Pajovic and Georgina Robertson
