Several weeks ago we had a personal tasting with Tim Crowther Sales Team Manager / Supplier Relations & Development of Prime Wine & Spirits. The tasting featured all non-alcoholic beverages. When Tim first approached me I was skeptical to say the least. His personal passion convinced me to try these – we hope you will too.

Below Tim speaks to the why n/a is so exciting now.

There are multiple, intertwined answers, personal and pragmatic: 

Building Prime’s non-alcoholic selection has become a passion project for me. I find myself (and many of my friends) looking for no and low-alcohol drinks that give us the same experience and sense of occasion as we’d get from alcoholic drinks, but without the negative effects that come from alcohol. The pleasure I take in alcoholic drinks, wine and beer especially, has not decreased, but my body’s capacity to process them as I grow older is not what it used to be.

 I’m clearly not alone in this desire, as the level of interest in quality non-alcoholic products shows no sign of slowing. There are so many reasons for people to choose no and low, from a growing interest in health and wellness, to a reset from two pandemic years of high home consumption; from someone recovering from addiction to a pregnant woman wanting to be included in the party with something other than Martinelli’s. There’s a generational change, as drinking habits shift.

This category isn’t an afterthought for Prime. Even though the excitement is real, there’s a disconnect between brands and consumers. People don’t even know there are great new options for them, or they don’t know where to find them; out at a bar, they may not even think to ask if there’s something better than the default fruity, sweet non-alcoholic “mocktail” (a word we really must stop using). And where do you look for a non-alcoholic spirit in a grocery store, anyway? Should it be in the wine department or next to the margarita mix? This is one reason specialty and boutique retailers have been at the vanguard: close and trusting relationships with customers that allow for conversations, like the ones bayleaf is having with its customers as it showcases delicious non-alcoholic options this month. We hope you’ll join us.