When she first founded fermented botanical drinks company Feral in 2021, people laughed. Now, Maddalena Zanoni gets calls from famous Italian winemakers every week asking to help them make non-alcoholic wine. “They were making fun of us, now they want to learn how we do it,” she tells Amelie Maurice-Jones, just months after launching the ‘world’s first’ alcohol-free Pét-nat.
“The shift in the market, it’s dramatic,” Maddalena Zanoni, founder of fermented non-alcoholic drinks start-up Feral, tells the drinks business. She first launched the company from the Dolomites in 2021, ditching 11 years in the corporate world to rediscover her love for botany. “When I explained what I do, people were laughing at me,” she says. “Now, I get a call every week from a famous winemaker in Italy asking if I can make their non-alcoholic wine. They were making fun of us, now they want to learn how we do it, and see if we can do it for them.”
Feral crafts non-alcoholic botanical drinks using a combination of ancient fermentation techniques and organic beets, herbs, roots and spices. Today, the company produces around 100,000 bottles annually – and hopes to double production next year, and then again the following year.
The team, composed of brewers, scientists and foragers, launched its N°5 Pét-nat Rosé – which sparkles due to fermentation rather than addition of CO2 – earlier this year. It’s Feral’s fifth recipe, and they think it’s the first non-alcoholic Pét-nat in the world. The product was released in September, the same month that Feral launched in the UK
No-alcohol drinks a Michelin must
“It’s almost impossible to keep three or two Michelin stars if you don’t have a really good non-alcoholic pairing,” according Zanoni, who hopes her products will be seen as true alternatives to wine. Currently, around 20% of her clients are part of the prestigious 50 Best or Michelin Guide rankings: “they have an urgent need to be really inclusive, they get judged around the quality of their non-alcoholic pairing.”
This makes sense for Zanoni, who believes it’s “unfair” for alcohol-drinkers to be awarded an “amazing journey through wines” when dining out, but then, “when you don’t drink alcohol, you have nothing”.
Mouthfeel and mitigating sweetness are key to Feral’s drinks offering. The founder is of the opinion that drinks overloaded with sugar don’t pair well with food. She suggests pairing the new Pét-nat with raw fish or ceviche, due to its “herbal, stone fruit and lime citrus” notes.
Gastronomy first
And making the drinks work gastronomically has been key since Zanoni founded the company four years ago – leaving behind a career in companies like Bain & Company and Danone – and heading to an altitude farm in the Trentino to try “chasing dreams” rather than “chasing a bigger car or salary”.
She built the first recipes by knocking on the doors of Michelin restaurants and asking for help, meaning Feral’s first clients were fine dining chefs. “A lot of them are very demanding, so building the first recipes with them gave sophistication to the taste and texture of the liquid.”
The global non-alcoholic beverage market is projected to reach US $1.49 trillion in 2025, with a combined volume of 870.90 billion litres. Zanoni cautions to watch out for “a lot of bad quality non-alcoholic products on the shelves” that she thinks will try to mimic wines through adding water additives, acidifiers, sugars and aromas. “The challenge, in the next five years, is going to be how to stay focused on quality,” she forecasts.
Related news
Montalcino’s wine tourism generates £130m lift for Brunello
Italy’s biggest online wine retailer fined for falsely claiming products were discounted
Zaccagnini targets US market with modern styles
Dining and Cooking