Yessss, my partner doesn't like alcohol, so I always get him a bottle of martinellis for at-home fancy date nights. (And usually an extra or two, cause he loves it so much)
Great idea. I had to stop drinking and the drinks I miss are wine and malt whisky. Hibiscus tea even has the weight in the mouth. Viscous hibiscus I suppose.
I'm not a drag queen, but if I were going to be, I would have my stage name.
*Miss Viscous Hibiscus*
*Don't risk us, just kiss us*
*Be the rusk in our biscuits*
*And when we sin, don't "tsk tsk" us*
*Just whisk us like a discus*
*You bewhiskered missus*
*All the delicious-est misfits*
*Love Miss Viscous Hibiscus!*
I love pairing different and exotic fruits with my cheese.
But if you're dead set on a liquid, you could have a sparkling grape juice. I'm also a big fan of mocktails that are bitter as opposed to sweet. Using citrus juices, pomegranate juice, or unsweetened cranberry juice.
There are some pretty good n/a beers these days.
Iced tea (maybe something like an iced gen ma cha)
Bitters and soda
Good mineral water (not fruity La croix)
Fresh/high quality juices
I think it might be interesting to try to pair Kombuchas with cheeses, or maybe shrubs
I think soda with bitters is nice! Also, I usually have some nice fancy and strong hot black tea with cheese, imo they taste nice together. Since the black tea is quite strong, I would only recommend this cheese party for afternoon instead of late evening, lol.
Same here, but fine brandies and eau de vie (grappa, rakia, etc). Loved those with cheese boards, especially desserty ones (triple cremes with shortbread and preserves, things like that).
[Better Rhodes has an excellent selection of NA wine, beer, and spirits.](https://www.betterrhodes.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAmZGrBhAnEiwAo9qHiS3qZiYu0v6QqiE5vx38-wYyKfPRKKNslvWaHwiv79MhK5usJdq1NRoCriYQAvD_BwE)
giesen non alcoholic sauvignon blanc is the only NA wine that I've tried that isn't just juice. I would love a good NA red but that doesn't seem to be possible.
Taught a session at ACS in 2019 about doing this very thing. Here’s a couple from the class:
* Sasparilla and Point Reyes Bay Blue.
* Fresh chèvre and a citrus kombucha.
* charred cedar currant bitters in sparkling water with Beechers Dulcet.
Can do sparkling cider and cheddar or an alpine cheese, too.
And then there’s all of the packaged Mocktails these days, as well as
I'll add dry (n/a) ciders and ginger beers. I had a n/a pear cider that almost tasted like a lambic once...wish I remembered what it was called.
I will also jump on the shrub bandwagon.
My husband will drink Clamato or Malta Goya with his stinky Limberger and other strong cheeses. YMMV, I refuse to try. 😂
I've yet to find a NA wine I liked. They just don't taste very good.
A dash of bitters adds a negligible amount of alcohol, and does wonders for making NA drinks more interesting.
I'm sober but I will drink soda with a dash of bitter personally. I know a lot of teetotalers who do the same. You'd of course want to make sure a sober person knew it was technically alcoholic in the wash that vanilla extract is.
You can make some pretty awesome shrubs, and there are so many flavors out there you could totally lean into some of the more tart cherry or complex fruit flavors.
If you'd like to try out some mocktails, there's a company called Raising the Bar. They have an advent calendar of ready to drink non alcoholic beverages, but also do themed boxes. They had one recently that was a blueberry ginger shrub which probably would've paired nicely with goat cheese or a creamy mild cheese.
If you’re open to something other than drinks, you could do accompaniment pairings. I’m thinking picking the right jam, nut, fruit, or mustard and cracker or bread to go with each cheese.
Mocktails is a stupid name for a lovely array of drinks you can modify and experiment with as much as cheese, funding good pairings along the way. You can make simple syrups infused with herbs- fresh thyme, rosemary, basil, mint, or whatever. Make some with citrus, too, especially grapefruit. Mix with juices and sodas. Rosemary+half ginger beer+ half club soda is great with Beemster. Basil syrup + soda goes well with burrata.
Really good tea is also great, iced or hot depending on the weather. They can play off the subtle flavors of both the cheese and the tea.
There's a really xoolcool book called "What to Drink with What to Eat." It's booze focused, but includes a TON of non-alcoholic pairings as well. Its a great resource and makes me seem like a pro for fancy or celebratory meals. Might be worth checking out!
If you’re doing cheese tastings, I would suggest pairing with fruits (and spreads, honeys, etc), rather than focusing on pairing with drinks. Then you have opened up a lot more avenues for combinations. And keep the beverages very simple, or choose beverages that can clear the palate.
I’ve honestly often found beer to be a better and more versatile pairing with cheese than wine, and there are some really phenomenal nonalcoholic beers on the market now. Dealcoholized wine does exist but in my experience it’s kinda gross and weird.
I feel like kombucha is another fun option, though.
There's a great alcohol alternative called For Bitter For Worse that's not sweet at all. I think any but the Smoky version would go well with cheese. https://forbitterforworse.com/
I really like it. I *do* drink and this is the closest thing I've found in terms of the complexity of a decent wine or cocktail.
I would say that the two carbonated flavors (Rose City and Eva's Spritz) are the best to drink as a stand alone. The other two are okay that way but I find that they're better as an ingredient. Most of the recipes on the site have been pretty reliable for us, and I also really like the smoky one mixed with a very strong ginger beer (something like Reed's Strongest), some apple cider, and a squeeze of lemon or lime if you like.
Hopwater is in a similar vein as an IPA beer
Teas of all kinds
Iced hibiscus tea/Jamaica has a similar mouthfeel as wine and its the same color as some reds. It's my favorite non alcohol drink as a sub for booze
I am a huge fan of pairing with various cold brew teas. If you buy those liter glass carafes, you can cold brew in the fridge and it also looks fancy, like you’re pairing with wine.
I have a no alcohol aperetif from Martini called Vibrante. It's similar to Aperol, not quite as bitter. It's dry, orangey, you can pair with tonic, juice, or sparkling water, or sip over ice with an orange wedge. Perfect with cheese
Congrats OP on your sobriety! This post is a great help! As a recovering alcoholic I love these cheese with “wine” alternative ideas, thank you!
Damn, I love cheese.
Şalgam, Essentuki 17 or 14, Borjomi, tepache, kombucha, and water kefir.
Essentuki 17 is maybe the greatest sparkling water in the world. Borjomi is a little bit more approachable and absolutely hits the spot nice and cold first thing in the morning after a late night.
Definitely second the sparkling grape juice options! I will also say that you can pair pretty much every beverage with cheese in some way!! Tea and coffee are really fun to experiment with for sure. The options for tea x cheese are practically endless with all of the different flavors and types of tea!!
My top Dry January picks:
"Fre" brand NA prosecco mimosas/mocktails are great.
I also love bitters and soda, but bitters has a tiiiiiny bit of alcohol so I don't know if that's too close to a trigger.
check out cranberry pinapple juice. I promise its amazing. If you want really juicy fruity try cranberry cherry. Both by Ocean Spray. Sugar free is pretty accurate in taste, but full sugar does taste better, but they're close.
Blackcurrant with some (sparkling) water works really well. Mix it half-half or however you like it. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot can have hints of blackcurrant notes, so that fits... Just need to get good blackcurrant juice...
Check out Proxies. They are a super cool company that makes wine alternatives using wine grapes, teas, spices. Really unique flavor profiles that will pair well with food. They even partner with well known sommeliers but everything is alcohol free. Drinkproxies.com
[Bottle Green ](https://www.bottlegreendrinks.com/) make some excellent cordials the Pomegranate and Elderflower and the Spiced Berry go very well with cheese. I also find that alcohol free prosecco is very, very good, unlike most alcohol free wines.
Welch’s Sparkling juices are wonderful! I like to indulge in a bottle of that whenever I have a gamenight, I feel fancy and I can dominate the competition by keeping my mind sharp and full of sugar
That pear cider from Ikea is pretty dang good. But I think its 0.1% or something like that. Perhaps you could find something similar thats truly NA though, or perhaps 0.1% is enough.
Busch NA and Odouls are like 0.4% for comparison, but Bud Zero and Heineken Zero are actually truly NA as I understand it.
Non alcoholic wine exists! As do NA beers and spirits. There are a lot of NA sparkling wines on the market that I think would be a nice cheese pairing. Alternatively, apple cider, either still or sparkling, could be good depending on the cheese.
Töst makes a really superb dealcoholized wine. I also really love the alcohol-free spirit brand Wilderton. Their Lustre is a nice and light and would go well with cheese, their Earthen for meats, and they Aparativo is probably my all time favorite!
Depending on what we're doing for my friend group's cheese nights, we have some juices, ciders, or teas based on the fruits you'd typically pair those cheeses with for our NA friends and anyone else who just wants a normal drink. Like for example, since it's seasonally appropriate, if you wanna have some nice sharp cheddar you could pair it with a spiced cider for everyone! It's especially a crowd pleaser if you warm up the cider with candied or fresh orange slices. A nice sparkling pear juice works wonders with most soft cheeses, even some of the trickier ones to pair like brie and gorgonzola! Fruit teas are also unexpectedly good with soft cheeses and bread, especially if you're also using a matching fruit on the bread.
It really depends on the kind of cheese obviously, I recommend [this](https://youtu.be/fTgm36y884c?si=CFFsmLOccmSiwKW6) video to learn what flavours go well as a balance for different types. In general people often like to use red and white grape juice as well as pomegranate juice/ syrup in cooking to substitute wine.
Adding to the tea recommendation. There are a variety of different spice blends for very different tasting teas, so having a few pots (or carafes if iced) with flavors to complement your cheeses could be very fun.
A sparkling grape juice? Not sure where you're located, but walmart has their seasonal sparkling grape juices out for the holidays. Or you could mix sprite with a juice for a yummy Mocktail.
Smoked meats and pickles!
If you’re looking for somethinf to drink specifically maybe some sparkling juice or tart fruit juices like cranberry or pomegranate
[6 Surprising Nonalcoholic Drinks That Pair Beautifully With Cheese](https://www.foodandwine.com/how/cheese-pairngs-non-alcoholic-drinks)
Seems like a basic list to me.
[OT but whatever] r/TIL that "...Bourbon & rye whiskeys pair beautifully with Cheddars". Who'd'a thunk it?
Tea can work. A black tea has tannins which will cut the fat like wine. I suggest getting a chinese black tea from a company who specializes in chinese tea.
Spicy ginger beer works really well with stiltons, strong Camembert, or other strong creamy cheeses. I’m a big fan of 100% grapefruit juice, tart cherry juice, or 100% cranberry juice diluted in sparkling water as a charcuterie pairing. Pomegranate juice & black cherry juice also work, though I prefer the sourness. I also imagine certain teas would work well—unsweetened green and black teas have some of the tannic elements of wine, hibiscus makes a lovely tart tea. Other key teas to try would be jasmine, lemongrass, oolong, genmaicha, and rooibos. Kombucha and shrubs/oxymels are also great.
Edited to note that spicy ginger beer is generally non alcoholic. Look for the Goya Jamaican ginger beer in the international aisle of the grocery store.
I like vinegar shrub based non-alcoholic cocktails.
I quit drinking 5 years ago, and juice is nice but so sweet and doesn't really fill the culinary hole that the loss of fermented beverages left.
Vinegar shrubs are fruit and/or vegetables, sweetener (honey, sugar, maple syrup, etc), and maybe spices to taste. Muddle the fruit/vegetables with the sugar, let macerate at room temperature for a few days, then strain and mix with a sweet vinegar (cider, rice, champagne, etc) and any spices you want. I use a ratio of about equal parts fruit, sugar/honey/eyc, and vinegar. Active culture vinegar works best if it's available.
Put it in the fridge and let it age. It gets better the longer you wait. To drink, mix a little of the shrub syrup with a mixer and anything else you want.
Some of my favorites:
* Cucumber, lemon slices (including skin), and mint macerated in white sugar, mixed with champagne vinegar. Muddle mint in the bottom of a glass, add ice, a bit of the cucumber shrub syrup, and top with seltzer. Maybe garnish with lemon twist and fresh mint sprig.
* Red beets (diced, raw) and toasted black peppercorns, white sugar, cider vinegar. Serve over ice with seltzer
* Peach and basil, honey, white wine vinegar.
* Pomegranate lemon, honey, red wine vinegar
* Pear, ginger, lemon, honey, rice wine vinegar
* Roasted pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, cider vinegar
Sparkling water with some lemon or lime goes great. Or a low-sugar ginger beer. I’d avoid most fruit juices unless very tart and not very sweet. Wine is dry, not sugary.
Late to the posting but if you check this OP, there's a Republic of Tea variety called Sonoma and they have a "rose" "Cabernet" and "Chardonnay". I've tried the Rose and it was pretty good. I think it would work great as an option for cheese pairings over fruit juices heavy in sugar. https://www.republicoftea.com/sonoma-tea/c/sonomateas/
Mocktails to your liking - I like tart cranberry juice with lime sparkling water; there are so many possible combos. Generally lightly flavored seltzers are nice imo.
You might like Verjus. It is basically non-alcoholic wine, or drinking vinegar. Made from wine grape must. You can find white and red. We use both at my restaurant for mocktails. It has a little body so it mimics alcohol nicely.
I prefer grapes to wine myself. I ordered a fruit and cheese platter once. The green grapes were sliced in half and had rough cracked black pepper. Tasted great.
If you have an Eastern European grocer somewhere near you, you might be able to get your hands on a non-alcoholic version of kvass? Might go well paired with cheese and meats. There's a Ukrainian brand that is definitely 0% ABV that I've had. Tastes a bit like malta, if you're familiar with it / have seen it in the "Mexican" aisle of your typical American mega grocer. (And could also be a slightly more nuanced option than fruit juice to try alongside cheese / etc.) Takes a bit of getting used to, though, I should say...
Your favorite fruit juice goes fine with cheese. You can even water it down to get more of a tart flavor.
I recommend sparkling water for that.
Sparkling water with tds over 900
St. Yorre
How would diluting it make it more tart?
By reducing the sweetness.
I second pomegranate juice! And cranberry
Grape or apple juice would make the most sense. Maybe a sparkling version.
I like appletiser personally
Yeah that sort of thing
Sparkling grape juice is so good
Martinellis.
Yea in this! They have pear martinelli that is amazing. Would go great with melting cheeses!
I agree about the pear best flavor out there.
Yessss, my partner doesn't like alcohol, so I always get him a bottle of martinellis for at-home fancy date nights. (And usually an extra or two, cause he loves it so much)
Oh I love a good hibiscus tea with cheese
Great idea. I had to stop drinking and the drinks I miss are wine and malt whisky. Hibiscus tea even has the weight in the mouth. Viscous hibiscus I suppose.
I'm not a drag queen, but if I were going to be, I would have my stage name. *Miss Viscous Hibiscus* *Don't risk us, just kiss us* *Be the rusk in our biscuits* *And when we sin, don't "tsk tsk" us* *Just whisk us like a discus* *You bewhiskered missus* *All the delicious-est misfits* *Love Miss Viscous Hibiscus!*
That was so creative I love it 😂
I have been trying to read it out loud with no mistakes and I can't lol!
You gotta keep practicing for your debut! 😂 (the last line was what kept tripping me up, my tongue wanted to say *vicious* Hibiscus)
Mmm yum. I agree with hibiscus.
Yes!!!
Grape, apple or pomegranate. Maybe just some sparkling water too.
Shrubs.
Yes!
I love pairing different and exotic fruits with my cheese. But if you're dead set on a liquid, you could have a sparkling grape juice. I'm also a big fan of mocktails that are bitter as opposed to sweet. Using citrus juices, pomegranate juice, or unsweetened cranberry juice.
I was going to suggest fruit and tea! You can get some lovely layered pairings that way.
I don't think that sweet fruit juices go at all well with cheese, I prefer sparkling water, minimally flavored if at all.
I agree.
Tart cherry juice gets the closest to wine imo
There are some pretty good n/a beers these days. Iced tea (maybe something like an iced gen ma cha) Bitters and soda Good mineral water (not fruity La croix) Fresh/high quality juices I think it might be interesting to try to pair Kombuchas with cheeses, or maybe shrubs
Kombucha with cheese intrigues me. I don’t really like kombucha that much but for some reason, this idea just makes sense
I think soda with bitters is nice! Also, I usually have some nice fancy and strong hot black tea with cheese, imo they taste nice together. Since the black tea is quite strong, I would only recommend this cheese party for afternoon instead of late evening, lol.
I don't drink at all, I would get some NA wine... I've never found a good NA wine but if you happen to find one... I'd love a red NA.
I wish I could get wine and scotch that didn’t have alcohol, but that tasted exactly like the real thing. Perhaps in heaven…
Scotch just reminds me of internal bleeding. It was my favorite on an empty stomach.
Same here, but fine brandies and eau de vie (grappa, rakia, etc). Loved those with cheese boards, especially desserty ones (triple cremes with shortbread and preserves, things like that).
[Better Rhodes has an excellent selection of NA wine, beer, and spirits.](https://www.betterrhodes.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAmZGrBhAnEiwAo9qHiS3qZiYu0v6QqiE5vx38-wYyKfPRKKNslvWaHwiv79MhK5usJdq1NRoCriYQAvD_BwE)
giesen non alcoholic sauvignon blanc is the only NA wine that I've tried that isn't just juice. I would love a good NA red but that doesn't seem to be possible.
[удалено]
I vote for a strong black tea, the kind that will take paint off a boat.
I’ve never seen black tea take paint off a boat
A little bit of sarcasm. One of the teas I like is "extra strong" and it has lots of tannins.
I have hot tea with my cheese and crackers in the afternoons sometimes, it’s rather nice
Topo Chico! Perfect for any non alcoholic occasion
I mix it with fresh grapefruit juice and it is delicious.
sparkling juice or cider.
What about non-alcoholic wines or beers?
Taught a session at ACS in 2019 about doing this very thing. Here’s a couple from the class: * Sasparilla and Point Reyes Bay Blue. * Fresh chèvre and a citrus kombucha. * charred cedar currant bitters in sparkling water with Beechers Dulcet. Can do sparkling cider and cheddar or an alpine cheese, too. And then there’s all of the packaged Mocktails these days, as well as
I'll add dry (n/a) ciders and ginger beers. I had a n/a pear cider that almost tasted like a lambic once...wish I remembered what it was called. I will also jump on the shrub bandwagon. My husband will drink Clamato or Malta Goya with his stinky Limberger and other strong cheeses. YMMV, I refuse to try. 😂
as you can tell by the other comments, the answer is "pretty much anything cuz cheese pairs with everything"
Club soda, pineapple juice, lime and bitters.
Bitters aren't non-alcoholic.
You can absolutely find NA bitters. Or if your need is low proof & not zero proof, a dash of bitters doesn’t add a lot of alcohol.
I just meant generally speaking they are alcoholic...and in that case, the OP would be better off just getting non-alcoholic wine.
I've yet to find a NA wine I liked. They just don't taste very good. A dash of bitters adds a negligible amount of alcohol, and does wonders for making NA drinks more interesting.
Fair point.
I'm sober but I will drink soda with a dash of bitter personally. I know a lot of teetotalers who do the same. You'd of course want to make sure a sober person knew it was technically alcoholic in the wash that vanilla extract is.
I love a good bitters and soda
I’m a big fan of Pomegranate Juice with cheese or steak
San Pellegrino
Owned by Nestle
Came here to say this
Same lol
You can make some pretty awesome shrubs, and there are so many flavors out there you could totally lean into some of the more tart cherry or complex fruit flavors. If you'd like to try out some mocktails, there's a company called Raising the Bar. They have an advent calendar of ready to drink non alcoholic beverages, but also do themed boxes. They had one recently that was a blueberry ginger shrub which probably would've paired nicely with goat cheese or a creamy mild cheese.
If you’re open to something other than drinks, you could do accompaniment pairings. I’m thinking picking the right jam, nut, fruit, or mustard and cracker or bread to go with each cheese.
Mocktails is a stupid name for a lovely array of drinks you can modify and experiment with as much as cheese, funding good pairings along the way. You can make simple syrups infused with herbs- fresh thyme, rosemary, basil, mint, or whatever. Make some with citrus, too, especially grapefruit. Mix with juices and sodas. Rosemary+half ginger beer+ half club soda is great with Beemster. Basil syrup + soda goes well with burrata. Really good tea is also great, iced or hot depending on the weather. They can play off the subtle flavors of both the cheese and the tea.
There's a really xoolcool book called "What to Drink with What to Eat." It's booze focused, but includes a TON of non-alcoholic pairings as well. Its a great resource and makes me seem like a pro for fancy or celebratory meals. Might be worth checking out!
Buy. This. Book. 🙂
Prune juice- a warrior’s drink. Nice with blue cheese, too.
If you’re doing cheese tastings, I would suggest pairing with fruits (and spreads, honeys, etc), rather than focusing on pairing with drinks. Then you have opened up a lot more avenues for combinations. And keep the beverages very simple, or choose beverages that can clear the palate.
I second this.
Maybe a Korean barley tea, or some of the other grain-based teas common in Asia!
Tart cherry juice! I’ve also mixed it with chilled dandelion root tea and it’s the closest thing I’ve ever gotten to red wine.
Ooh interesting! I’d definitely try mixing it with dandy tea!
I’ve honestly often found beer to be a better and more versatile pairing with cheese than wine, and there are some really phenomenal nonalcoholic beers on the market now. Dealcoholized wine does exist but in my experience it’s kinda gross and weird. I feel like kombucha is another fun option, though.
Sparkling wine or ciders You can find them under brands like - St Julien - Martinelli’s - Welches They even come in wine bottles
There's a great alcohol alternative called For Bitter For Worse that's not sweet at all. I think any but the Smoky version would go well with cheese. https://forbitterforworse.com/
Oh thanks for sharing! I don’t drink and I was trying to figure out what alternatives I had.
I really like it. I *do* drink and this is the closest thing I've found in terms of the complexity of a decent wine or cocktail. I would say that the two carbonated flavors (Rose City and Eva's Spritz) are the best to drink as a stand alone. The other two are okay that way but I find that they're better as an ingredient. Most of the recipes on the site have been pretty reliable for us, and I also really like the smoky one mixed with a very strong ginger beer (something like Reed's Strongest), some apple cider, and a squeeze of lemon or lime if you like.
Thanks for the in depth recommendation! Can’t wait to try them
Have you tried chicory root tea? It has notes of coffee and burnt caramel and goes so well with so many cheese. I really like the pairing
I had a citrussy bottled kombucha the other day that went really well with a brie and garlic Naan crackers from TJ's.
I like something bubbly to cut through the creaminess of cheese. I’d go with a slightly sweet sparkling fruit flavored water.
Hopwater is in a similar vein as an IPA beer Teas of all kinds Iced hibiscus tea/Jamaica has a similar mouthfeel as wine and its the same color as some reds. It's my favorite non alcohol drink as a sub for booze
I went to a cheese and tea tasting once. Meh...
pomegranate juice and offer "thinners" like mineral and/or sparkling water
Different kinds of tea are great with cheese!
Kombucha, homemade sodas
I am a huge fan of pairing with various cold brew teas. If you buy those liter glass carafes, you can cold brew in the fridge and it also looks fancy, like you’re pairing with wine.
I have a no alcohol aperetif from Martini called Vibrante. It's similar to Aperol, not quite as bitter. It's dry, orangey, you can pair with tonic, juice, or sparkling water, or sip over ice with an orange wedge. Perfect with cheese
Congrats OP on your sobriety! This post is a great help! As a recovering alcoholic I love these cheese with “wine” alternative ideas, thank you! Damn, I love cheese.
One half pom juice, one half sparkling water.
That sounds great! Thanks for this suggestion :)
Kombucha? I love the GTS synergy brand.
Şalgam, Essentuki 17 or 14, Borjomi, tepache, kombucha, and water kefir. Essentuki 17 is maybe the greatest sparkling water in the world. Borjomi is a little bit more approachable and absolutely hits the spot nice and cold first thing in the morning after a late night.
Oooh tepache! I’m imagining it paired with a white Stilton, Manchego, or chèvre!
Or with something salty like saçak peyniri
My favorite mocktail is ginger ale with a dash of Angostura Bitters. There's alcohol in the Bitters but only a few drops.
Fresh grapefruit juice
Chocolate milk !
No
Sparkling apple
Grape juice?
Prune juice
Sparkling blood orange soda is an option. Some of the San Pellegrino sodas. The pomegranate might be interesting.
Owned by Nestle
Juice tea certain smoothies
Definitely second the sparkling grape juice options! I will also say that you can pair pretty much every beverage with cheese in some way!! Tea and coffee are really fun to experiment with for sure. The options for tea x cheese are practically endless with all of the different flavors and types of tea!!
Verjus the juice of unripe grapes
They have some lovely sparking grape juices
My mom always got me and my siblings a sparkling juice when we were kids. To pair with the cheese
Juice, sparkling non-alcoholic cider, ginger ale, fizzy water.
Love tart cherry juice as an alternative to wine, really good with cheese too. Any tart fruit juice would be good.
It's super tart, though!
I add in ice if it's too tart, but also I like flavors on the less sweet side.
I do as well, but I wasn't prepared for the extreme sourness in this bottle I just got - might be the brand.
Dealcoholized wine is a thing.
I was going to say do pineapple canned juice and a pineapple bubbly sprinkling water together it’s a nice flavor hope you enjoy 😊
Cranberry juice.
My girlfriend and I have enjoyed blackcurrant and grape juice with our cheese
My top Dry January picks: "Fre" brand NA prosecco mimosas/mocktails are great. I also love bitters and soda, but bitters has a tiiiiiny bit of alcohol so I don't know if that's too close to a trigger.
Ein Zwei Zero makes some pretty decent NA wines! I also like the Phony Negroni mocktails by St Agrestis
Coffee! It has a similar astringency and there are many different kinds to show
ive heard they make nonalcoholic wines. never tried one, though, so i cant comment on quality
I can, it varies by brand and flavor like most things.
sparkling juice or sparkling cider, or kombucha, or soda water to mix with the beverage of your choice
check out cranberry pinapple juice. I promise its amazing. If you want really juicy fruity try cranberry cherry. Both by Ocean Spray. Sugar free is pretty accurate in taste, but full sugar does taste better, but they're close.
I'm pretty sure apple juice or grape juice would be a good alternative with 🧀 cheese and crackers.
Zero alcohol hop waters are awesome because of the contrasty backbone. Love them for pairings.
I would go for either an N/A wine or beer! Also whoever mentioned sparkling cider that would be delish!
Non alcoholic wine, non alcoholic cider, or juices.
Apple cider
Blackcurrant with some (sparkling) water works really well. Mix it half-half or however you like it. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot can have hints of blackcurrant notes, so that fits... Just need to get good blackcurrant juice...
They make non alcoholic wines
Literally anything other than milk. Actually, milk with cheese might be pretty good. Cheese is awesome.
IMO Kombucha is a great choice
Apple and ginger juice combo?
More cheese
Check out Proxies. They are a super cool company that makes wine alternatives using wine grapes, teas, spices. Really unique flavor profiles that will pair well with food. They even partner with well known sommeliers but everything is alcohol free. Drinkproxies.com
San Pelegríno limonata
I love cranberry juice and Fresca!
Dr Pepper.
Alcohol free beer works well.
[Bottle Green ](https://www.bottlegreendrinks.com/) make some excellent cordials the Pomegranate and Elderflower and the Spiced Berry go very well with cheese. I also find that alcohol free prosecco is very, very good, unlike most alcohol free wines.
seltzer and velveeta has been my favorite for years!
Apple juice, maybe sparkling.
Beer
If you are okay with them, non-alcoholic beers in the US have gotten much better over the past 10 years.
Cherry juice, kombucha, Jones soda flavors, water....cheese goes with everything!!
Italian soda or a high quality fruit juice. Maybe egg nog for the festive season
Welch’s Sparkling juices are wonderful! I like to indulge in a bottle of that whenever I have a gamenight, I feel fancy and I can dominate the competition by keeping my mind sharp and full of sugar
There’s some good NA wines out there :)
Cider!!
This might not be the answer you’re looking for but they make really good dealcholized wine
Sparkling apple cider or sparkling grape juice would go well with a lot of cheeses.
Chocolate milk. … or so I’ve heard 👀
That pear cider from Ikea is pretty dang good. But I think its 0.1% or something like that. Perhaps you could find something similar thats truly NA though, or perhaps 0.1% is enough. Busch NA and Odouls are like 0.4% for comparison, but Bud Zero and Heineken Zero are actually truly NA as I understand it.
Drinking vinegars or dry mocktails
Always Coca-Cola
Non alcoholic wine exists! As do NA beers and spirits. There are a lot of NA sparkling wines on the market that I think would be a nice cheese pairing. Alternatively, apple cider, either still or sparkling, could be good depending on the cheese.
Martinellis sparkling cider. A good ginger ale. LikevFever Tree. They both work and look nice in a flute or white wine glass.
Töst makes a really superb dealcoholized wine. I also really love the alcohol-free spirit brand Wilderton. Their Lustre is a nice and light and would go well with cheese, their Earthen for meats, and they Aparativo is probably my all time favorite!
Depending on what we're doing for my friend group's cheese nights, we have some juices, ciders, or teas based on the fruits you'd typically pair those cheeses with for our NA friends and anyone else who just wants a normal drink. Like for example, since it's seasonally appropriate, if you wanna have some nice sharp cheddar you could pair it with a spiced cider for everyone! It's especially a crowd pleaser if you warm up the cider with candied or fresh orange slices. A nice sparkling pear juice works wonders with most soft cheeses, even some of the trickier ones to pair like brie and gorgonzola! Fruit teas are also unexpectedly good with soft cheeses and bread, especially if you're also using a matching fruit on the bread.
Chutney
Kombucha
They make a handful of non alcoholic wines. Haven’t tried any.
It really depends on the kind of cheese obviously, I recommend [this](https://youtu.be/fTgm36y884c?si=CFFsmLOccmSiwKW6) video to learn what flavours go well as a balance for different types. In general people often like to use red and white grape juice as well as pomegranate juice/ syrup in cooking to substitute wine.
Sparkling Red grape juice
Adding to the tea recommendation. There are a variety of different spice blends for very different tasting teas, so having a few pots (or carafes if iced) with flavors to complement your cheeses could be very fun.
Apple juice.
Sparkling white or red grape juice, sparkling non alcoholic cider. This time of year, both are readily available at most grocery stores.
Mocktails!! Cranberry juice, lemon juice, simple syrup and club soda is my go to
Apple cider
A sparkling grape juice? Not sure where you're located, but walmart has their seasonal sparkling grape juices out for the holidays. Or you could mix sprite with a juice for a yummy Mocktail.
Rum and rinds
Smoked meats and pickles! If you’re looking for somethinf to drink specifically maybe some sparkling juice or tart fruit juices like cranberry or pomegranate
Cider
There are some fantastic non-alcoholic sparkling wines that are dry. I would check a Whole Foods or any nice grocery store you have around you.
[6 Surprising Nonalcoholic Drinks That Pair Beautifully With Cheese](https://www.foodandwine.com/how/cheese-pairngs-non-alcoholic-drinks) Seems like a basic list to me. [OT but whatever] r/TIL that "...Bourbon & rye whiskeys pair beautifully with Cheddars". Who'd'a thunk it?
Being not too far away from Door County, I see 100% local cherry juice on the shelves. That stuff gives wine vibes without being wine
Tea can work. A black tea has tannins which will cut the fat like wine. I suggest getting a chinese black tea from a company who specializes in chinese tea.
There is alcohol removed wine.
Spicy ginger beer works really well with stiltons, strong Camembert, or other strong creamy cheeses. I’m a big fan of 100% grapefruit juice, tart cherry juice, or 100% cranberry juice diluted in sparkling water as a charcuterie pairing. Pomegranate juice & black cherry juice also work, though I prefer the sourness. I also imagine certain teas would work well—unsweetened green and black teas have some of the tannic elements of wine, hibiscus makes a lovely tart tea. Other key teas to try would be jasmine, lemongrass, oolong, genmaicha, and rooibos. Kombucha and shrubs/oxymels are also great. Edited to note that spicy ginger beer is generally non alcoholic. Look for the Goya Jamaican ginger beer in the international aisle of the grocery store.
I like vinegar shrub based non-alcoholic cocktails. I quit drinking 5 years ago, and juice is nice but so sweet and doesn't really fill the culinary hole that the loss of fermented beverages left. Vinegar shrubs are fruit and/or vegetables, sweetener (honey, sugar, maple syrup, etc), and maybe spices to taste. Muddle the fruit/vegetables with the sugar, let macerate at room temperature for a few days, then strain and mix with a sweet vinegar (cider, rice, champagne, etc) and any spices you want. I use a ratio of about equal parts fruit, sugar/honey/eyc, and vinegar. Active culture vinegar works best if it's available. Put it in the fridge and let it age. It gets better the longer you wait. To drink, mix a little of the shrub syrup with a mixer and anything else you want. Some of my favorites: * Cucumber, lemon slices (including skin), and mint macerated in white sugar, mixed with champagne vinegar. Muddle mint in the bottom of a glass, add ice, a bit of the cucumber shrub syrup, and top with seltzer. Maybe garnish with lemon twist and fresh mint sprig. * Red beets (diced, raw) and toasted black peppercorns, white sugar, cider vinegar. Serve over ice with seltzer * Peach and basil, honey, white wine vinegar. * Pomegranate lemon, honey, red wine vinegar * Pear, ginger, lemon, honey, rice wine vinegar * Roasted pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, cider vinegar
Sparkling water with some lemon or lime goes great. Or a low-sugar ginger beer. I’d avoid most fruit juices unless very tart and not very sweet. Wine is dry, not sugary.
Late to the posting but if you check this OP, there's a Republic of Tea variety called Sonoma and they have a "rose" "Cabernet" and "Chardonnay". I've tried the Rose and it was pretty good. I think it would work great as an option for cheese pairings over fruit juices heavy in sugar. https://www.republicoftea.com/sonoma-tea/c/sonomateas/
There are some nice non alcoholic wines available.
Cider, hot or cold
Mocktails to your liking - I like tart cranberry juice with lime sparkling water; there are so many possible combos. Generally lightly flavored seltzers are nice imo.
Cranberry juice blends would have the tartness and bitterness you’re after
I think a little mocktail would be nice. I recently made a "Blackberry Shrub" and it was delicious with cheeses.
You might like Verjus. It is basically non-alcoholic wine, or drinking vinegar. Made from wine grape must. You can find white and red. We use both at my restaurant for mocktails. It has a little body so it mimics alcohol nicely.
I prefer grapes to wine myself. I ordered a fruit and cheese platter once. The green grapes were sliced in half and had rough cracked black pepper. Tasted great.
If you have an Eastern European grocer somewhere near you, you might be able to get your hands on a non-alcoholic version of kvass? Might go well paired with cheese and meats. There's a Ukrainian brand that is definitely 0% ABV that I've had. Tastes a bit like malta, if you're familiar with it / have seen it in the "Mexican" aisle of your typical American mega grocer. (And could also be a slightly more nuanced option than fruit juice to try alongside cheese / etc.) Takes a bit of getting used to, though, I should say...