Would Madame Care For Another Champine?

There’s been a rise in sober culture, with PSAs and movements around the health benefits of sobriety. And word on the street is that Millennials are drinking less in part because it’s too expensive and they’re a risk-averse group.

But one food critic says that there’s a burgeoning movement among foodies and people who love a good wine pairing with their meals to have nonalcoholic drinks paired with meals. But unlike mocktails and virgin Pina Coladas of yesteryear, these nonalcoholic elixirs are sophisticated and hold up against their alcohol-fortified competitors.

At Atera, a two-Michelin star tasting counter in NYC, Champine, a drink infused with douglas fir pine needles, is part of their “temperance pairing,” which combines small plates courses with nonalcoholic drinks made in-house. The restaurant also offers a “Nogroni,” or non-alcoholic Negroni made with juniper saffron water, raisin nectar, and a faux Campari with quinine bark.

As palates become more sophisticated and experimental, non-alcoholic drinks will be increasingly part of a gourmet food experience, framed not as a poor substitute for wine or spirits but as an alternative with complex flavor profiles. It’s part of a trend we call Extrasensory, which reconnects us to the pleasures of flavor and texture.