Although eating lunch or dinner with a good wine or beer is sacred for many, during the Christmas holidays excesses take their toll and many people end up saturated with so much food and also so much alcohol. For this reason, in January it is common for people to opt for ‘nolo’, a trend based on abstinence from alcohol, which is deeply rooted in Nordic and Anglo-Saxon countries. It used to be known as dry January, but has spread throughout the year.
Haute cuisine is also adapting to this trend by offering ‘nolo’ alternatives, such as French chef Anne-Sophie Pic, who has three stars at her restaurant Pic in south-eastern France. As she said in an interview, the chef came up with the idea when she was pregnant and could only drink water during meals. So she devised an infusion based on Brazilian coffee and served it in a wine glass to accompany the meat. As she concluded, you have to meet the needs of all diners by offering different options.
Although in this sense, in countries with such a long tradition of wine or champagne and cava, such as Spain or France, it is a subject that generates controversy. In fact, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), we can only consider wine as that beverage “resulting from the alcoholic fermentation, complete or partial, of fresh grapes, crushed or not, or grape must. Its actual alcohol content may not be less than 8.5% vol.”, but increasingly many drinks are appearing that could be similar to this, but with lower alcohol content, such as sparkling or soft drinks.
On the other hand, cocktail menus with and without alcohol are also widely available for people who do not want to drink alcoholic beverages. The consumption of ‘nolo’ drinks has increased considerably in recent years. For example, according to one study, in the UK there was a 22% increase in people opting for dry January.
It is clear that January is a month of healthy resolutions, especially after the excesses of Christmas. But as long as you do things in moderation, there is no problem. If you’re curious about the ‘nolo’ trend, here are 3 alcohol-free cocktail recipes to start the year without a hangover.