Featured in Chef:In: It Was Never About Giving Something Up

There was a line in my recent interview with Chef:In magazine that has stayed with me.

"Es ging mir nie um Verzicht."

Translated into English, it means: "It was never about giving something up."

It struck me because those few words encapsulate exactly why I founded Noughty.
From the beginning, I was never interested in creating a product that asked people to compromise. I wasn't trying to make an acceptable alternative to wine for those who couldn't drink alcohol. I wanted to create exceptional wine that just happened to be alcohol-free.

There's an important difference.  For far too long, the conversation around alcohol-free has been framed by absence. Less alcohol. Less indulgence. Less enjoyment. As though choosing not to drink somehow meant opting out of the experience.

I've never believed that.  Wine has always been about so much more than alcohol for me. It's about the terroir, the conversation, the celebration and bringing people together around the table.  I don't believe those things don't disappear simply because alcohol does.

Today, we're seeing something I hoped would happen when we launched Noughty in 2019.

The conversation has changed.

Guests aren't ordering alcohol-free because they feel they have to. They're choosing it because they genuinely want to. Sometimes they're driving.

Sometimes, yes, they're training for a marathon or have an early meeting, or are pregnant, or simply want to wake up feeling refreshed. But increasingly, they don't feel they need to explain their choice at all.

That's real progress - for the whole non-alcoholic drinks sector.

It's also why it felt particularly meaningful to speak with Chef:In. The magazine is read by the people shaping hospitality: chefs, restaurateurs and industry leaders who understand that every element of the dining experience matters.

For years, restaurants invested enormous care in their food while the alcohol-free drinks list was often an afterthought. Thankfully, I'm seeing that changing.

The best restaurants now recognise that every guest deserves the same attention, whether they're ordering Champagne, Burgundy or an alcohol-free sparkling wine. Hospitality is about making people feel welcome. It's about elevating every guest's experience, not just those who happen to be drinking alcohol.

As chefs continue to push the boundaries of flavour, texture and creativity on the plate, the drinks served alongside them should be just as thoughtfully considered.

That's why quality has always been our obsession.  Every decision I've made about creating the Noughty portfolio has been guided by one simple question: Would this deserve a place on the world's best tables?

The answer has to be yes.

To be featured in Chef:In is an honour, not simply because it's recognition of Noughty, but because it reflects a much bigger shift taking place across hospitality.  We're beginning to judge wines by their quality, not by what's missing from them.
And for me, that's what it has always been about.

Not deprivation.