Zero-alcohol rosé champagne served in a luxury lingerie boutique in Paris, "virgin" cocktails developed for the launch of trendy restaurants and hotels... The "nolo" trend of drinks without alcohol ("no") or with little of alcohol ("low") is gaining ground even in starred restaurants.

"It's a trend that is growing in France after the Anglo-Saxon countries which are always one step ahead of us," Yann Daniel, mixologist of the Alchimiste group, one of the leaders, told AFP. movement.

This fall, he has developed a range of light cocktails by working "spices, herbs, roots and teas" for the hotel of the Australian chain Tribe in Paris.

With more than 20 years of experience at the bar of palaces, he admits to having been "quite skeptical" at first, but "we realize that with these cocktails, people enjoy more, appreciate and recommend".

"We go further"

Alchimiste's other mixologist, Matthias Giroud, published the book "No Low" (Gründ) in October with 60 cocktail recipes.

An approach hailed in the preface by the multi-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire for his "true creativity on virgin territory" which allows you to have fun "without depriving yourself of a second glass".

At David Toutain, two Michelin stars, we start the meal with an effervescent drink made from bergamot and buckwheat.

The lobster is served with an infusion of fir buds, the apple juice with fennel vinegar will accompany the eel, the beet-carrot nectar the pigeon...

Chef David Toutain receives his second Michelin star in Paris, January 21, 2019 © Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP/Archives

"It took me years to put all this in place", tells AFP the chef who has been offering pairings with non-alcoholic drinks alongside those with wines since November.

"We go further in the experience," he says.

"A winegrower is not going to make a wine to accompany a dish, the sommelier chooses it in relation to his palate. This is my universe".

Hélène Pietrini, director of the gastronomic classification La Liste, confides to AFP "to adore" alcohol-free pairings, "a way of tasting from abroad" which "completely changes the aromatic profile of dishes and increases tenfold the means of to express".

In French high gastronomy, it is the most starred chef in the world Anne-Sophie Pic and her sommelier, the Argentinean Paz Levinson, who were pioneers of nolo.

Anne-Sophie Pic, the most starred French chef in the world, one of the pioneers in France of alcohol-free food and drink pairings, in Paris, November 9, 2022 © JOEL SAGET / AFP

"When I was pregnant, it was nerve-wracking to go to a restaurant and stay in the water all evening. I wanted to create something exceptional" so that all non-drinking customers could enjoy their "social life," Paz Levinson told AFP.

"Today, things are slowing down a bit, everyone is getting into it," says Anne-Sophie Pic.

At his three-star restaurant in Valencia, lukewarm brewed Brazilian coffee is served in a tall wine glass to accompany a venison fillet.

- Wine under threat?-

Faced with the "frustration" of customers who only find non-alcoholic drinks from large retailers on the restaurant menu, sommelier Benoît d'Onofrio has developed alcohol-free pairings for the ephemeral restaurant of chef Manon Fleury in inspired by the techniques of winegrowers (maceration, extraction of aromas).

“Listening to the feedback, I am comforted in the idea that the nolo has a bright future ahead of it”.

Three-star chef Guy Savoy thinks this trend is legitimate in countries that don't produce wine and need to adapt, but not in France.

"In the first country of great wines, I do not judge, but I do not adhere".

French chef Guy Savoy in Paris, November 29, 2022 © JOEL SAGET / AFP

The German gastronomic critic Jörg Zipprick, co-founder of the List, believes that the health discourse tends towards "the alcohol devil", which will discourage the consumption of wine.

David Toutain, he plays down.

"We are in love with wine, champagne and we claim it. We just offer a different window of opportunity".

© 2023 AFP