Joining the exclusive tasting in the stylish and extravagantly designed Sketch restaurant, I am keen to savour French Bloom both on its own merits and also see how it compares to drinking a glass of fine Champagne.The no/low alcohol category was once dismissed by purists but is now attracting intense interest. It is the fastest growing sector in the drinks industry and research suggests that as many as four in 10 adults now seek out these health-conscious alternatives.
French Bloom’s aim is quite specific. It is successfully carving out a niche – creating an elegant alternative for those who seek the ritual and refinement of sparkling wine without the effect of alcohol. Its vintage cuvées – La Cuvée Vintage 2022 and La Cuvée Vintage 2023 – are not just alcohol-free sparkling wines; they are designed to replicate the concept of fine vintage champagne, where the character of a single year, terroir, and ageing process defines the wine.
For sommeliers, French Bloom’s focused range provides a non-alcoholic option that can mirror the structure and origin story alongside premium champagnes especially by the glass and in tasting menus.
Pioneer from Champagne stock
“The initial idea to create a no-alcohol sparkling wine was almost seen as blasphemous coming from a family steeped in champagne tradition.” French Bloom CEO Rodolphe Frerejean-Taittinger
It’s not that easy to take the alcohol out of wine and still keep the favour profile, texture body and aromas. Hence French Bloom has had to invest heavily in research and development to find the best base wines that can emerge successfully after the de-alcoholisation process. After a long search, its sparkling wines come from the acquisition of 25 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards in Limoux in the Languedoc in southern France. Perhaps it's no coincidence that this is also the founding home of sparkling wine created by monks at the St Hilaire Abbey in Limoux centuries before.
French Bloom chief executive Rodolphe Frerejean-Taittinger (whose background spans champagne and cognac) says: “The idea to create a premium no-alcohol sparkling wine was my wife’s, Maggie, who when pregnant with our twins in 2018 was frustrated that no premium no-alcohol wines were available.”
“But the initial idea to create a no-alcohol sparkling wine”, explains Rodolphe, “was almost seen as blasphemous coming from a family steeped in champagne tradition.”
His wife convinced him that the idea had potential and French Bloom was born in 2019 with co-founders Maggie and Constance Jalonski, a long-standing friend and model. Rodolphe gave the idea his blessing and smiles, muttering, “happy wife, happy life!”
Hunch pays off – Moët Hennessy investment
The hunch and hard work are paying off. Moët Hennessy became investors in the brand in 2024 and French Bloom now produces over one million bottles a year and is in over 500 gastronomic restaurants, five-star hotels globally and served to first class Air France flyers.The growth has been 80% year-on-year – a figure most other wine producers can only dream about!
Guests at our lunch have the preconception that French Bloom must be most popular in the Middle East, but France is their biggest market and the product is popular too in Japan and the USA.“The health conscious are particularly attracted to French Bloom as not only is it zero alcohol, but also it is almost zero calorie, organic and sulphite-free with no added sugar or preservatives,” says Rodolphe.
French Bloom portfolio
The French Bloom range focuses on a few carefully crafted cuvées rather than a broad or diverse portfolio.
La Cuvée Vintage 2022 release is the first vintage and it sets the tone: rich, complex, and unapologetically gastronomic. 100% organic Chardonnay fermented then aged for over six months (partly in oak), before gentle de-alcoholisation. It is deep and mature, golden, honey-nosed with notes of caramel and toasted hazelnut – similar to an old vintage champagne or an oxidative vintage in the style, perhaps, of cult winemaker Selosse. Only 17,000 bottles were produced and only a few hundreds remain undrunk.
The just released La Cuvée 2023 is a contrast. It has citrus notes and is more linear than the 2022, with bright acidity, orchard fruit and a mineral backbone. It is more classical in style, less about richness but leaning toward precision, finesse and balance while maintaining depth. It is aged for eight months in French oak barrels.
The core French Bloom cuvées include Le Blanc, Le Rosé and the L’Extra Brut.
Le Blanc is the house’s signature white sparkling cuvée and the most “Champagne-like” in structure. It is primarily derived from organic Chardonnay wines that have been de-alcoholised, blended with grape juice and natural citrus elements. It displays aromas of pear and white flower, fresh and mineral-driven on the palate, slightly spicy citrus. It is clean, elegant and refreshing, designed to mimic the finesse of a dry champagne. It works well as an aperitif and pairs with lighter foods like seafood, salads, or soft cheeses.
Le Rosé cuvée is served with dessert and is a softer, more expressive and fruit-forward profile. It is a blend of de-alcoholised Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines, plus organic grape juice and natural flavours. Aromas include fresh berries and rose petals with notes of delicate stone-fruit on the palate. It is an easy drinking sparkler and a perfect people pleaser. It is so cleverly crafted, I’m almost unaware it lacks any alcohol.
L’Extra Brut is a prestige organic Blanc de Blancs that is 100% Chardonnay with zero added sugar and effectively only a single calorie per glass. Perfect for gastronomic pairing, for example, with seafood or scallops. It has fine bubbles, an elegant mousse and subtle notes of white flowers and dried fruits.The finish has a subtle saline touch and pronounced minerality.
Pioneering way to de-alcoholise wine
Unashamedly gastronomic - French Bloom is now in over 500 gastronomic restaurants, five-star hotels globally and served to first class Air France flyers
French Bloom designs base wines specifically for de-alcoholisation rather than starting with finished wines and then removing alcohol. They harvest earlier to preserve acidity and the base wines have amplified structure, often through extended ageing in new Burgundy barrels so they will retain length, texture, and character. Only at the final stage does de-alcoholisation occur using a gentle low-temperature triple vacuum distillation.The core cuvées, Le Blanc and Le Rosé, are rebalanced with organic lemon and grape must, while the prestige wines, L’Extra Brut and La Cuvée Vintage, are left entirely dry.The company has no plans to produce still wines, confirms its chief executive.
At the lunch, Rodolphe sets the stage for a parcellaire vision with distinct cuvées tied to specific plots, giving alcohol-free sparkling wine the kind of place-based identity long associated with traditional top-end appellation wines.They are restoring a final wall of a clos in Limoux with this in mind.
Winning formula
French Bloom La Cuvée 2023 launch, Sketch, London, April 2026
It is clear why French Bloom has won its place on the tables of many Michelin-starred eateries and has just won a glamorous collaboration with Formula 1. Its rise reflects the broader cultural health-conscious shifts and its single-minded emphasis on sophistication.
Je suis convertie!
Do I miss the alcohol when drinking French Bloom? Yes, and no. The purist will miss the alcohol on the palate and certainly, the price tag is hefty. For example, the by-the-glass price is 80% of the equivalent cost of top premium champagnes. But in the right setting, with the right company many drinkers will get the same pleasure as from real fizz from Champagne. Indeed quite a few will be pleased to avoid the less admirable effects of alcohol. The French Bloom wines are not simply a substitute but desirable and pleasurable in their own right. They are luxury sparkling wines that just happen to be 0.0% ABV and I can happily say, “je suis convertie!”.
La Cuvee 2023 retail price is approximately £109 (750ml bottle).
