ALTER was born in Belgium — a country with a deep wine culture, steeped in gastronomy yet driven by innovation. From this fertile ground, ALTER emerged. Our cuvées are crafted with the same care Belgian chefs and winemakers bring to their terroir: honest, precise, and seasonally attuned.
ALTER’s domain is based in Antwerp, with herb fields grown on organic soil in Nijlen, and its alcohol-free distillery and blending room located in Antwerpen.
Founders Alexander & Ina
Born from curiosity and courage,
shaped by craftsmanship.
Alexander Scott Wingfield Jones
Two makers guided by flavour, nature, and craft. Alexander brought his background as a mixologist: a trained eye for balance and a pursuit of depth.
Ina contributed her vision of cultivation and terroir: her conviction that true flavour can only grow in open soil and not in food laboratories.
Founder’s Note — Ina
“We grow our botanicals in open fields, not in laboratories.”
Our process mirrors that of wine: cultivation, harvest, blending. We simply replace the grape with fresh herbs. That choice is rare in the alcohol-free landscape, where flavour additives are the norm (even so-called natural flavourings are often chemically produced in laboratories).
That is what sets us apart: seasonal cultivation yields authentic, living flavours — bringing structure, length, and freshness — the very qualities that make wine timeless.
The tension between structure and tannins — the balance of dryness, juiciness, and sweet-acid equilibrium.
"What we do is pure and precise"
We extract and blend flavour through botanical layering. We create something akin to wine — with its own identity, yet without alcohol. Thanks to our distillation technology, we extract herbs into alcohol-free expressions that, once assembled, reveal the same aromatic dimensions you’d find in wine.
Alexander Scott Wingfield Jones
ALTER is an alternative for wine occasions, without alcohol. The brand is built on wine culture — not on fermentation or dealcoholisation — and starts from the same principles as winemakers: cultivation, distillation and blending. In doing so, ALTER alternates grapes with herbs, and fermentation with alcohol-free distillation.
That craftsmanship forms the basis for cuvées that behave like wine — with structure, length and complexity — but without alcohol and with a flavour profile of their own. The result is a vinous alternative with body, bite and balance, made to pair at the table.
ALTER reimagines winemaking—without alcohol. We cultivate our own herbs, then steam/vacuum-distil them into pure botanical distillates. Instead of fermentation, we build a cuvée in layers—primary, secondary, tertiary aromas—what we call botanical ageing. Finally, we blend with unripe grape (verjus) and select fruit to add acid tension, length and structure. Fine-tuning (pH, sweetness/dryness, gentle clarification, optionally CO₂) keeps the profile vinous, not sugary. No alcohol, no fermentation, no dealcoholisation—just craft, savoir-faire and layered, wine-like complexity.
The founders of ALTER didn’t create an imitation, but a reinterpretation. As a result, ALTER is a fully fledged wine alternative rooted in the same culture of enjoyment.
ALTER offers a vinous alternative for the very same moments when a glass of wine or sparkling wine would traditionally be poured. The cuvées feel like wine moments, without alcohol, but with tension, length and balance. They reinterpret the gesture of pouring, smelling, tasting.
ALTER distinguishes itself through vinous complexity without tasting like wine. The structure, nose and finish recall wine, but keep their own character and flavour palette.
The brand is artisanal and seasonal. Just like a winemaker, they work in cycles, depending on the natural harvest of the herbs. And just like a good wine, the creation process requires savoir-faire and time.
ALTER is built on wine culture — not to imitate wine, but to reinterpret the process. And whereas many alternatives rely on extracts or flavourings, ALTER is pure and natural — no preservatives, no artificial flavours.
No alcohol. No dealcoholisation. No fermentation.
ALTER is not de-alcoholised wine and not a fermented drink.
They build flavour — they don’t strip it away.
De-alcoholised wines often try to imitate wine. But when you remove the alcohol, a large part of the flavour and texture disappears too. The result is usually flat, without tension or soul. ALTER starts from authenticity, craft and savoir-faire. Its complexity is created through blending and distillation — by building, not by removing.
Other alternatives, such as proxies or kombuchas, rely on fermentation culture with bacteria and yeasts that convert sugars into acids. Fermentation introduces acetic acids and off-notes that can muddy the flavour profile. ALTER, by contrast, contains no fermentation cultures and no traces of alcohol. That’s why the taste stays fine and sophisticated.
So ALTER is not an imitation or a variant, but a vinous alternative with its own identity — a unique category within the world of alcohol-free drinks.
