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There’s no point calling the rise of low/no-alcohol drinks a trend anymore — it has become a full-blown movement.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/01/2026 (226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
There’s no point calling the rise of low/no-alcohol drinks a trend anymore — it has become a full-blown movement.
Sure there’s Dry January and Sober October, but there’s also a larger overall move towards moderation and a growing number of people embracing a sober lifestyle for all manner of reasons.
An increasing number of lounges and eateries are offering more (and more innovative) mocktails, as well as alcohol-free beers and wines. The number of dealcoholized options at grocery stores, beer vendors, Liquor Marts and the like has never been higher.
In short, the low/no-alc phenomenon is here to stay.
In Manitoba, some of the boom can definitely be attributed to the work of the couple behind the Winnipeg-based Sobr Market.
The brainchild of Shane and Jessie Halliburton, Sobr Market began as an online-only presence in 2023 before the pair opened a bricks-and-mortar location on Academy Road.
Three years later, Sobr Market has shops in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario, thanks in part to a collaboration with Walmart that has seen micro-bottle shops set up in a handful of locations. (The Walmart at 2370 McPhillips St. is home to one of said shops, offering a couple hundred low/no-alcohol beer, wine, mocktail and spirits options.)
In addition to bringing a comprehensive range of alcohol-free options for all tastes, Sobr Market also offers the chance to try many of its products before you buy.
Quality-wise, zero- or low-alcohol options continue to improve. The canned mocktails mimic the real-deal options easily, and locals such as Shrugging Doctor Beverage Co. and Farmery have produced zero-alcohol sangria and caesars, respectively.
Non-alcoholic beer options continue to keep pace nicely with with their boozy brethren, with a growing number of breweries introducing tasty low/no-alcohol options.
That includes right here in Manitoba. Locals making low/zero-alc brews include Farmery, Low Life Barrel House, Lake of the Woods Brewing Co. and, most recently, Trans Canada Brewing Co., who just released a low-alc (less than 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume, or ABV) version of their popular Bluebeary Ale. (I wasn’t able to track any down in time to include tasting notes this week.)
On the wine front, the options are slightly more mixed. Most low/no-alcohol wines are a touch on the sweet side, which tends to work best in bubblies and worst in reds, with varying success in still whites and rosés. Most of the mass-produced dealcoholized wines found at grocery stores are pretty bad, but those carried by Sobr Market (and, to a lesser extent, private wine stores) offer a wider range of styles and quality, with many coming from smaller producers.
Readers: What low/no-alcohol drinks have impressed you? Is there interest in an increased amount of non-alcoholic drinks coverage here? Let me know.
Drinks of the week
Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0%
(Rome, Italy — prices of cans, bottles and six-packs vary, widely available)
Pale straw in appearance and clear, this zero-alc Italian brew brings fresh malt, red apple, cracked biscuit and subtle herbal notes aromatically.
It’s dry, light-bodied and crisp, aping the regular Peroni nicely in the malt, biscuit and apple notes, retaining that underlying herbal flavour as well.
The big breweries (including Heineken, Beck, Asahi, Corona and the like) continue to do good work on the non-alcoholic front. Available at Liquor Marts, Sobr Market, grocery stores and beyond 3.5/5
Town Brewery Easy Tiger Non-Alc Lager
(Whitby, Ont. — $3.75/355ml can, Sobr Market)
Pale gold in appearance and clear, this 0.5 per cent ABV lager offers up-front biscuit and malt aromas, with hints of toasted nut and chalky components.
On the dry, light-plus bodied palate there’s a touch of rounder red apple flavours that come with the biscuit, crisp malt and subtle nutty note, with good depth of flavour and right in line with your typical lager. Nicely done. 4/5
One for the Road Brewing Co. Still Struggling Espresso Stout
(Calgary — $2.80/355ml cans, Sobr Market)
Deep cola brown in appearance with an off-white head — not as deep in colour as, say the Guinness 0.0 — there’s a lovely espresso bean note that comes through aromatically alongside dark malt, cocoa, vanilla and spice on this “less than 0.5 per cent” stout.
It’s dry and light-plus bodied — surprisingly on the leaner side, in fact — with a slightly bitter herbal note that comes with the espresso and dark malt flavours as well as hints of cocoa and toffee.
Decent flavours, but lacks the chewier, more robust texture of other non-alcohol stouts. 2.5/5
This “alcohol-removed wine” (less than 0.5 per cent ABV) contains dealcoholized wine and Riesling grape concentrate (among other things), and is pale straw in appearance, bringing pretty perfume, floral, red apple and pear notes.
On the palate it’s mainly dry and delivers a decent amount of Riesling-like flavours — red apple, lemon candy, some herbal notes — with medium acidity and a modest finish.
One of the better non-alcohol bubblies I’ve tried. 3.5/5
Bottega 0 Sparkling Life Rosé
(Italy — $13.99/750ml bottle, Liquor Marts and beyond)
The stalwart Italian sparkling wine producer has ventured into zero-alcohol fizz, the rosé made from a minimum 70 per cent grape must.
It’s bright pink in colour and offers aromas of watermelon and cherry candies, a subtle raspberry note and hints of fresh-cut flowers.
On the palate it’s light-plus bodied and fairly sweet, with loads of red berry/cherry candy and a peachy note and almost a hint of spice. Fans of sweeter Moscato d’Asti bubblies, take note. 3/5
Gnista NV Red, French Style
(Sweden — $22.50/750ml bottle, Sobr Market)
This “red wine alternative” brings some mixed messaging — the label says it’s to be served like a French wine, but cautions “don’t expect it to taste like one.”
Made from grape, sour cherry and cranberry juices along with oak, raisins, black pepper and “extracts made from vodka” (it’s 0.3 per cent alcohol), it’s pale ruby and slightly hazy in appearance, bringing mulled wine/fruitcake notes aromatically.
It’s light-plus bodied and quite sweet, with the fruity flavours going toe to toe with the spice and oak components, and some modest tannins. Disregard the serving suggestion and either slightly chilled (with ice, sangria style) or slightly warmed (a-la mulled wine). 2.5/5
winnipegfreepress.com/bensigurdson
Ben Sigurdson Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
The remnants of 7-Eleven can still be seen as new businesses move into spaces where Slurpee machines and taquitos once ruled.
As fresh paint dries on several new ventures — such as a pizza place and a convenience store with a name that might make a customer do a double-take — holes across Winnipeg once occupied by the international convenience chain are slowly being filled.
Business at a Domino’s Pizza in Elmwood, formerly a 7-Eleven, has been booming since it opened June 1, the store manager said.
“The issues that 7-Eleven would have had might be different than what we would have. They were dealing with a lot of theft where people can just walk in and out, but Domino’s isn’t set up that way,” said Paul Hemmerling.
Manitoba’s police watchdog is investigating after a 42-year-old man died after being Tasered by Winnipeg police early Sunday.
Officers were called to the 600 block of McMeans Avenue East in Transcona at about 4:23 a.m. after several 911 calls were made about a man who was reportedly behaving erratically, walking up and down the street and removing his clothing, a Winnipeg Police Service news release Monday said.
Police said one of the calls came from the man himself and a woman, who told dispatchers they were experiencing adverse effects after consuming drugs.
Just after 4:30 a.m., a nearby resident called 911 and reported a man had broken into his home and assaulted him. The man eventually left the residence, police said.
Kelvin Siemens hoped he was dreaming when a tornado touched down near his home Sunday evening.
When he woke up the next morning, the southwestern Manitoba farmer confirmed it was no dream, as his barn and hay shed was toppled and a pile of rubble was left behind.
“This kind of devastation can really test your constitution,” Siemens, 65, told the Free Press from his farm just south of Kola, a small community in the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth.
The tornado was reported near Elkhorn, about 105 kilometres west of Brandon, at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. A second tornado touched down near Maryfield, Sask., located southwest of Elkhorn.
School crossing guards are preparing to resume their posts on busy corners across the Winnipeg School Division, but Luna Zúñiga isn’t one of them.
Zúñiga hung up her high-visibility vest about 30 months ago after she was struck by a motorist while escorting a child through a pedestrian crosswalk on Grant Avenue at Lanark Street.
Zúñiga protected the child, who wasn’t hurt, but the educational assistant at nearby J.B. Mitchell School suffered life-altering injuries, including nerve damage that limits her stamina, range of motion and makes her left leg “feel like it’s burning all the time.”
“I don’t know what needs to be done (to improve school-zone safety),” she said. “But I do know that when a six-year-old is crossing the street, a car needs to be fully stopped.”
VICTORIA BEACH — They’re not carved into stone tablets — they’re reminders and not commandments, after all — but behind one of the display cases at Village Green Bakery is a laminated sheet of letter-size paper with a list of statements outlining how owner Jen Leslie wants staffers to approach their work.
Fittingly, there’s a baker’s dozen of them.
One is aimed specifically at a stoic teen who’s worked at the bakery since it opened in summer 2022 — “Smile, Brody,” it says — while the other 12 are meant for all 17 employees at the seasonal business, which is open annually from May long weekend until Thanksgiving.
“Smile and enjoy the ride,” is the first reminder, followed by, “The summer is short, so make it a good one,” “always take the high road” and “you are awesome.”
Abiola Odutola4 minute readYesterday at 11:47 AM CDT
BRANDON — The Manitoba Labour Board has ordered the Western Star All Suites Hotel to pay nearly $138,000 in unpaid wages and administrative fees after it dismissed the appeals involving three foreign workers employed by the company.
In a decision dated Aug. 25, the board ordered 6692452 Manitoba Ltd. (doing business as Western Star All Suites Hotel), 1638185 Alberta Ltd. and company director P.X. to pay a total of $137,915.79 to the Employment Standards Branch for wages owed to foreign workers S.J., J.B. and G.R.
The decision was edited to protect the personal information of the employees, who worked at a hotel, reportedly in Melita, at different times and also lived there during their employment.
The board stated the employees were owed wages after hearing evidence about long working hours, irregular payments, inadequate employment records and working conditions.
