The Zeronimo Wine Love Story ♥️ 🍷

Nothing perks people’s attention up quite like “Non Alcoholic Red Wine.” 🍷

The frustration and disappointment in this category is massive. Customers have spent millions of dollars chasing a good NA Red, and nearly everyone comes away annoyed and a bad taste in their mouth. No one wants grape juice flavors/aromas (a common additive), a sugary sweet wine (unless they do), or vinegar flavors, and the Wine Alternatives category doesn’t bring the same emotional response that wine can.

The universal story: “I tried another one… and yep, still tastes like grape juice.”

One day Feliz from Château Zero came into my Ocean Beach Cafe and handed me a Zeronimo Leonis Blend 375ml, and my life completely shifted.

I’ve always said:“Whomever cracks GREAT non alcoholic red wine is going to win big.”

I was on a video call the next day with Katja and Patrick Bayer of Heribert Bayer Winery in Burgenland, Austria. They said they needed to get into the US market, and I was like, “I can help with that!”

The Origin

My journey started when I decided to take a year off drinking in 2020.

I remember the first couple months, I was like, "Oh, I can see myself drinking alcoholic red wine again, because pairing that with a steak dinner on date night is such a soul filling memory for me!”

Then, I remember the significant moment when I realized I could get rid of that thought of me future drinking alcohol by realizing this:

I was going to find the best non-alcoholic red wine in the world.

The Moment Everything Changed

The first time I smelled Zeronimo Leonis Blend, I literally said:“Where did this come from? Who made this?”

This was a 98-point wine in Europe. Heribert Bayer’s flagship expression — that’s what they dealcoholized. They used the best equipment in the world, the newest tech, sitting right over the border in Germany.

The price was going to land at $69 a bottle in the U.S. and the Sparkling Select at $39.

I was actually very excited to be working with a product that was in this higher price point, because I was looking for something that was the best in the world.

I knew that shipping liquid in glass was going to cost the same amount, whether the bottle cost $20 or $69. Might as well get involved in higher quality, find that avatar, and be the man who let the people know the elusive NA red wine actually exists.

Why This Matters

I get to interact with the whole world at my Ocean Beach Cafe in this major city of San Francisco. I always have a pulse on what society knows and does not know about this subject.

I now know this is a household subject — 100’s of millions have cut back on drinking, or stopped altogether, and the world needs to know there are amazing products to come together over.

We still have a memorable, fun, and exciting time connecting with others whether or not alcohol is in the glass.

But it has to be good.

Fast-Forward

We sold out 14 pallets shipped from Austria.No ads. Minimal marketing. Just organic word of mouth, reviews, and people telling their friends:

“I finally found it.”

I ran out of stock in the November Holiday rush. I have 5–7 requests a day asking when it will be restocked — whales, just waiting to order the GOAT!

Dry January Is Coming

We have finally secured the shipment to land in the U.S. for Dry January arrival!

There are only 3 pallets on this shipment so they will move pretty quickly as we work on the next shipment going to the East Coast instead of the West Coast since most orders go there, and shipping across the country is usually over 2X more expensive.

Katja and Patrick doubled the sales of their 30+ year old, super-premium winery in 2025 by adding a Non Alcoholic option.

Two years ago, almost no one thought of Non Alcoholic Wine. It’s been amazing to see that society now has Non Alcoholic Wine in their minds, and experience — from the countless articles, social media posts, and news pieces on the category.

The Mission

I’m on this earth to let people know ‘what’s good’ in the Non Alcoholic beverage world and I’m so glad I found the best Non Alcoholic Red Wine 🍷

If you’re looking to tell the story of a category finally breaking through, this is it.

— Joshua James