Romain des Grottes is the kind of vigneron who grows with the utmost sensitivity, who sells essential oils from his herb farm alongside his natural wines, who improvises at the piano with concert-like intensity. What he is not, I am sure I can attest to, is the type of winemaker who follows a trend. And yet, his greatest success is not his beloved Beaujolais, but an unfermented N/A wine called “L’Antidote.”
For the European natural wine set, L’Antidote has become the N/A wine of choice, something frequently seen on tables in Paris, Copenhagen and London. Romain conceived it in 2010, long before the current rush to N/A. When I asked him what inspired his creation, his answer was simple: “I found it compelling to mix the juice with the native flora.” She also wanted to create a non-alcoholic drink for when she needed to keep her mind clear, one that could also serve as something special to share with her kids. He never expected it to be a success.
To make L’Antidote, he blends apple and his own Gamay juice, then flavors it with herbs, flowers and artemisias that sprout in his untamed vineyards. Then he applies his winemaker brain to balance the acidity, sweetness and bitter components and turns the whole thing around. glou-glou with the addition of bubbles. The final step is “tunnel” pasteurization, a process often used by craft brewers, in which the bottled product, rather than exposed juice, is heated to stabilize it; Consider this to preserve the subtle aromas of L’Antidote.
The demand, however, has not been subtle. Just four years ago, in 2020, it produced 10,000 bottles. By 2024, 87,000. Driven by pure demand, this is not only a qualitative leap, but almost nine times its production in Beaujolais.
London importer Joel Wright says he processes between nine and ten pallets (more than 6,000 bottles) a year. The share of that allocation is consumed not only by the natural wine community, but also in more traditional places, such as Noble Rot restaurants in London, where it is served for £6 ($8) a glass. Across the Channel in Paris, Nathan Ratapu owns a small bookstore and wine shop in the 10th arrondissement, Rerenga. L’Antidote is by far their box office success. “One of the attractions,” he says, “is the old variations. In 2023 they were herbaceous. In 2024, they will feel much lighter and slightly more fruitful.” If the drinker’s choice is natural, this alternative works with that ideology. As he points out, “this is not a mass-produced soft drink or an alternative to brand-name alcohol or a wine that has had the alcohol removed.”
Another natural wine hub, Copenhagen, has also embraced the drink. Solfinn Danielsen, who sells it at Rødder & Vin, a popular natural wine and caviste bar, calls it “the Gamay version of a root beer.” He often shares a drink with his son, something Romain would approve of; he believes his L’Antidote (and its new sibling, L’Antelope, with elevated bitterness and 50 percent less residual sugar) can serve as training wheels for a young palate. “We can show a child the intricacies and wonders of wine, without wine actually existing,” Romain says. (This is, of course, an alternative talking point to wine that would give today’s prohibitionists hives.)
Despite all its success with Gen Z in Europe, you currently can’t find L’Antidote in the U.S. Chris Terrell, who had previously been Romain’s importer, told me that with its debut in 2018, customers loved it. They would order and then return it. when they realized it wasn’t wine.” The mistake was understandable; The bottle is similar in shape and label to the vigneron’s Beaujolais. There’s a rumor that another American importer is willing to bring it back, but for now, American drinkers will have to be content with simply putting it on their European shopping list.
As for Romain, he remains baffled by the rise of L’Antidote. Last spring, at a hybrid wine tasting in the Jura, he reached under the table and pulled out his new vintage of L’Antidote: It was herbaceous and juicy, like a raspberry soda wrapped in twigs and thyme. When I asked him about his success, he shook his head in surprise and joy. “I just can’t believe it.”
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