How to Enjoy Wine Like the French, Without the Hangover

By Dr Christina DeLay, Chief Scientist at ALTINA

I fell in love with wine for the romance of it long before I understood it in any technical sense. What drew me in first was the story. The vineyard, the terroir, the people behind it, and the journey of the food it would be paired with. Wine had a way of turning dinner into something more thoughtful. It slowed things down and made the table feel complete.

That’s still what I love about it now.

When people talk about the French relationship with wine, they often focus on tradition, but what stands out to me is how naturally wine fits into everyday life. It belongs with food, conversation, and time. It has a place at the table, but it does not need to dominate it. There is a kind of ease in that approach, and I think that is part of why it continues to resonate. It also makes a strong case for non-alcoholic wine.

Sometimes you want the wine ritual, the proper glass, the pairing, and the sense of occasion, but you do not want the alcohol or the way you feel the next day. That does not mean giving up on flavour or settling for something sweet and flat. It means choosing a non-alcoholic wine that still feels at home at the table.

For me, that is where things get interesting.

The best non-alcoholic wine still brings freshness, aroma, structure, and enough complexity to hold your attention through a meal. It gives you something to work with. Wine is rarely just a standalone drink. It shifts with food, and food shifts with it. A creamy cheese can make acidity feel brighter. Herbs can pull out different aromatics. A richer dish can make texture feel more important. Once you start thinking about wine through that lens, pairing becomes less about rules and more about balance.

That is also how we think about ALTINA. We make non-alcoholic wine for wine lovers, with flavour and food in mind, because the goal is not simply to remove alcohol. It is to create something that still feels satisfying in the moments where wine usually belongs.

What the French get right about wine

One of the things I admire most about French wine culture is its sense of proportion. Wine is often part of the meal rather than separate from it, which changes the whole experience. A good bottle supports the food, the pace of the evening, and the people around the table. It does not have to do all the work on its own.

That way of thinking opens up a more interesting conversation about non-alcoholic wine. If what you really love is the ritual, the pairing, and the atmosphere, then alcohol is only one part of the picture. The glass still matters. The table still matters. The pleasure is still there.

For anyone who loves wine but wants more flexibility, that feels like a modern and very welcome shift.

How to pair non-alcoholic wine with French-inspired food

This is where non-alcoholic wine really comes into its own for me. Served well, with the right dish, it can feel thoughtful and complete in exactly the way a good wine should.

For apéro and lighter starters

This is the easiest place to begin. You want something bright, fresh, and welcoming. Something that wakes up the palate and suits the kind of food people naturally reach for at the start of an evening.

ALTINA’s AVEC FlowState Mango Spritzer works beautifully here with olives, gougères, seafood canapés, soft cheeses, or a plate of radishes with butter and sea salt. It has that lifted, aperitif-style quality that suits the first glass.

Le Blanc also sits naturally in this space, especially with chèvre, oysters, white anchovies, or anything with citrus and herbs. It feels crisp and focused, which is often exactly what lighter dishes need.

Sparkling Brut is another lovely match for salty, fried, or pastry-based starters. Parmesan twists, tarte flambée, or little savoury bites all make sense with a sparkling style because the freshness keeps everything moving.

For cheese boards and shared plates

A good sharing table asks a lot from a wine. There are often sweet, salty, creamy, and savoury flavours all competing for attention, so versatility matters.

Kakadu Plum Rosé is a very easy fit here. It works well with pâté, cured meats, triple cream cheese, strawberries, and the kind of generous board that people graze from for an hour without really noticing.

Sparkling Rosé also works beautifully if you want something with a bit more lift. It feels festive, but still grown up.

For richer, more savoury dishes

This is where I start reaching for the deeper, more structured styles. French-inspired food often has a lovely savoury quality to it, whether that comes from roasted mushrooms, lentils, herbs, jus, or slow-cooked vegetables, and richer dishes need a wine with enough shape to meet them.

FlowState Shiraz is a strong choice with mushroom tart, roast chicken, lentils, ratatouille, or harder cheeses. It has the kind of darker, more grounded profile that works well with food you want to linger over.

Pepperberry Shiraz also belongs here. There’s a savoury edge and spice profile that makes it especially good with roasted vegetables, richer mains, and more rustic dishes.

A more modern wine ritual

What I find encouraging is that more people are starting to separate the pleasure of wine from the assumption that alcohol always has to be part of it. You can still care deeply about flavour. You can still love the ritual of opening a bottle, choosing the right glass, and setting the table properly. You can still want a drink that feels adult and considered.

You just might want to wake up clear-headed the next day.

That feels less like compromise and more like a broader understanding of what the wine experience can be. The French have always understood that wine is woven into food, culture, and conversation. That part remains, even when the alcohol does not.

For me, that’s the real opportunity with non-alcoholic wine. It gives you a way to keep the romance of it all. The story, the pairing, the atmosphere, and the pleasure of the glass in your hand. Sometimes, that is exactly enough.

Discover more about ALTINA’s delicious non-alcoholic wines at https://altinadrinks.com/