More specifically alcohol at events, and the introduction of more non-alcoholic options.

I’m partial to a glass of wine, however for the first time I took on Dry January last year, and attempted it again this year too (with partial success). One thing that I noticed over the past 12 months was the lack of choice for non-alcoholic drink options when attending events.

A YouGov survey found that 44% of 18-24 year old drinkers now regularly or occasionally opt for non-alcoholic alternatives, which has risen from the 31% in 2022. It’s great when you go to a pub/bar/hotel and see the growing range for alcohol-free lagers, an exotic range of mocktails, and even non-alcoholic spirits on offer behind the bar, but when you try and translate this into larger events, it just doesn’t seem to work yet.

Think about when you arrive at a charity event, gala dinner or awards ceremony, what’s the first thing you experience when arriving at the reception? A glass of bubbles, wine or orange juice. We all know that OJ, is a classic and satisfies a lot of people, but it’s 2024, why can’t we leave the juice for breakfast, and get creative and step outside the comfort zone a little!

Just one google search will give you lots of websites dedicated to Alcohol Free drinks with a vast range, no matter what your favourite tipple is. Now I’m not saying we do away with the Chardonnay, (I’ll fight anyone who tries to take mine away from me) but it would be nice to be able to offer the choice of both at events without incurring extra charges for something that should be offered as standard, that way everyone is catered for.

So with that in mind, here’s my current drinks obsessions at the moment

· 19 Crimes Chardonnay – My old faithful, in my opinion you can’t go far wrong with a bottle from the 19 Crimes range and it’s at a decent price point

· Cranberry & Raspberry Juice with Cream Soda – This is so refreshing, low calorie and reminds me of the red and white Campino sweets, can never get too much of this!

-Rhiannon