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Luana Partimo, DER SPIEGEL:
»Give up alcohol completely for a month?
More and more people are doing this in the so-called 'Dry January'.
That's why there are now more and more alcohol-free alternatives.
And today we’ll take a closer look at what that looks like.”
We make our first stop in a classic wine shop in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
Here, Holger Schwarz has dedicated a separate shelf to alcohol-free alternatives – known in the scene as “proxies”.
It's worth it, because although the alternatives only make up a small part of the around 800 wines in his store, they bring in a full 25 percent of his sales.
This means that Schwarz's business is not an isolated case.
Alcohol consumption in Germany has decreased significantly over the last 40 years - especially among young people.
The proportion of 12 to 17 year olds who consumed alcohol at least once a week in 2021 was just under 8.7 percent - almost half as many as 10 years earlier.
Leon van Rossenberg, customer:
“I drink regularly myself, I don’t have a ‘Dry January’, but I do have Semi-Sec.
So just try to drink less.
This year I also have a tracker, Google Sheet Tracker, where you count alcohol consumption.
Exactly.
And that simply ensures that people are aware of alcohol consumption and I can only support the general trend towards drinking less alcohol.«
Uli Frieser, customer:
»There are often few variants.
So you can drink cola, water, what else?
And because of alcohol there are too many variations.
Cuba Libre, Tonic, Spritz, Hugo.
And that now simply gives you the opportunity to put these variants into a non-alcoholic drink.«
Luana Partimo, DER SPIEGEL:
“What can you recommend to me here?”
An alcohol-free wine alternative from Copenhagen is particularly popular with Holger Schwarz’s customers.
Holger Schwarz, owner of Viniculture:
“I just happen to have it cold here too.
This is based on blackcurrant juice.
Douglas fir needles, so there’s something ethereal about the fir and also pickled rhubarb and various herbs.”
Luana Partimo, DER SPIEGEL:
»It doesn't taste like the usual wine.
So there’s definitely still that ethereal element to it, which is what you said.”
Holger Schwarz, owner of Viniculture:
“It’s not a copy of a wine taste, but an independent channel.”
In search of a certain complexity, Schwarz relies on a water kefir base.
Because the simple alternatives made from grapes are too sweet, he says.
But it doesn't always have to be wine.
Isabella Steiner shows us that you don’t even have to go without spirits in “Dry January”.
She runs a shop in Berlin-Kreuzberg that only sells non-alcoholic drinks.
Isabella Steiner, owner of sober berlin:
“We are now making an alcohol-free Aperol Spritz here.
This is the one with less sugar.
It also looks like an Aperol.
So, now we'll put some sparkling wine on top, get the one with less sugar and then we'll make a tonic.
You can also drink it with tonic.«
Luana Partimo, DER SPIEGEL:
»I would start with this one.
He's a little more acidic than I'm used to.
But yes – an Aperol.
Has an Aperol taste.”
The future belongs to proxies – Isabella Steiner is sure of that.
In fact, the alternatives have been creeping into our everyday lives for years.
This can be seen above all in the Germans' favorite drink: beer.
In the past 10 years, the production of non-alcoholic beers in Germany has more than doubled.
Our last stop is at Jennifer Kießling, who sells a colorful mix of cider, non-alcoholic vinegar - and of course proxies in her shop in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg.
We try something similar to an Italian red wine.
Luana Partimo, DER SPIEGEL:
“Cheers.”
Jennifer Kießling, owner of mindful drinking club:
"The idea here is that you have a drink that you can drink for a similar occasion as a glass of red wine, but that doesn't explicitly try to taste like that."
Luana Partimo, DER SPIEGEL:
"I don't have the feeling that I'm drinking wine now, but rather something fresher, but still noble."
Jennifer Kießling tells me that many people are not even aware of the quantities and normality with which they drink alcohol.
We would be afraid as a society to take a critical look at our alcohol consumption.
This is exactly where the alcohol-free alternatives should now come into play and enable enjoyment without prohibition.
Luana Partimo, DER SPIEGEL
:
»You can tell that something is happening in the industry and alcohol-free alternatives are very trendy.
That's why there is now a variety of drinks.
And personally I can't say which is my favorite now.
But I think the pool goes a long way.
In the end, everyone will probably have to try it for themselves.«