![\"cycene](\"https:\/\/elitetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/cycene_09052025_credit-rebeccadickson791-min-300x200.jpg\")
<\/div>\nSometimes known as a \u2018half-and-half,\u2019 the hybrid is a bespoke drinks flight alternating between wine and a non-alcoholic (NA) alternative \u2014 from 0.0 percent ABV wines and juices to sparkling teas and homemade ferments. And it\u2019s gaining popularity at select tastemaking restaurants around the world. <\/p>\n
\u201cYounger generations aren\u2019t drinking in the same way [as older generations],\u201d claims Micah Melton, culinary director at Alinea in Chicago. \u201cNot drinking is a little less stigmatized.\u201d While Alinea offers a full NA pairing to go with its experimental tasting menu, the hybrid option is more of an off-menu alternative. \u201cA lot of people will get halfway through a wine pairing, and think, \u2018That\u2019s enough,\u2019\u201d says Melton. \u201cSo, we offer a mix and match as we see fit.\u201d <\/p>\n
For the most part, this alcohol-free pairing was designed to mimic the alcoholic offering \u2014 drinks were chosen for their resemblance, in taste or look, to the wines. But, as more guests dabbled with \u2018sober curiosity,\u2019 the drinks team got creative. \u201cSometimes we home in on a flavor in a dish and make a whole drink out of that, or for others we would single out an ingredient we thought a dish was missing,\u201d Melton says. \u201cWe have a whole bar team for NA drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n Another pioneer of the half-and-half, among other things, is Iris, the boundary-breaking restaurant in the middle of a Norwegian lake. Managing director Sebastian Torjusen says they see a homemade NA option as an opportunity for heightened flavor-matching. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about reducing alcohol consumption, but adding an experiential dimension. Our non-alcoholic pairing can be designed and brewed to offer more than wine can. There are a few more tangents to play with.\u201d <\/p>\n The hybrid menu showcases established producers \u2014 including Villbrygg, a Norwegian company making \u2018soda for grown ups\u2019 \u2014 as well as house-made fermentations using local ingredients. <\/p>\n In London, Cycene\u2019s hybrid pairing, created by sommelier Douwe Steyn, is similarly experimental, and combines low-intervention wines with house-made \u2018softs,\u2019 from fermented kombucha to juices. Most interesting of all, though, is the glass of honeyed yet almost sour-tasting malted milk to accompany dessert. Given the heavy, syrupy characteristics of the more-common dessert wine, a glass of dairy doesn\u2019t feel too wild. A restaurant\u2019s creative potential is no longer just about what\u2019s on the plate \u2014 it\u2019s in the glass, too.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As drinking habits change, top restaurants are getting creative.\u00a0 Sometimes known as a \u2018half-and-half,\u2019 the hybrid is a bespoke drinks flight alternating between wine and a non-alcoholic (NA) alternative \u2014 from 0.0 percent ABV wines and juices to sparkling teas and homemade ferments. And it\u2019s gaining popularity at select tastemaking restaurants around the world. \u201cYounger […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"iris](\"https:\/\/elitetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/tlt_644011-min.jpg\")