You're going on holiday. The car is loaded, the boot is full, and someone asks: "What are we bringing to drink?"
It's a question no one ever asks about regular wine or beer — you just pop a few bottles in, no questions asked. With alcohol-free drinks, the reflex isn't there yet. The result: once you arrive, you find yourself searching in a seaside resort supermarket, faced with a selection reduced to two or three industrial alcohol-free beers and an orange juice.
This year, things change. Here's how to prepare your holiday aperitif — whether you're travelling by car, plane, camping or renting a place — so you never have a disappointing drink in your hand.
Alcohol-free holiday aperitif — in brief
Cans for the car and camping · Bottles for the rental · A botanical spirit for evening cocktails · A kombucha or ginger beer for active days. Prepare your order before you leave — the local selection will be limited.
Travelling by car — cans first
The golden rule: order before you leave
The car is the most flexible holiday format for alcohol-free drinks. You're not limited by weight, not constrained by airline rules — you can bring exactly what you want.
Prioritise cans for the journey and the first few days. Lighter than glass bottles, indestructible in the boot, ready to drink immediately on arrival. A cool box with a few cans of craft beers and some ginger beers — that's the welcome aperitif that greets the whole group the moment the car doors open.
For bottles of dealcoholised wine or sparkling drinks, wrap them in clothes in the boot and store them upright.
💡 The wine merchant's tip: order before you leave. The artisan alcohol-free selection in roadside supermarkets is virtually non-existent. Delivery in 72 hours: order on Monday to leave on Thursday.
The perfect pairing: the first evening on arrival — chips, pizza from the corner shop, an improvised spread. The craft beer in a can is the arrival drink, the one that says the holiday has truly begun.
Travelling by plane — the concentrated format
One bottle in the suitcase, all the cocktails of the stay
Flying comes with constraints — no liquids over 100ml in the cabin. But alcohol-free drinks can travel smart.
In the hold, protect bottles carefully in the middle of your clothes. Alcohol-free spirits with screw caps travel better than sparkling drinks — avoid packing sparkling bottles in the hold, as pressurisation can cause surprises on arrival.
The real strategy for flying: bring just one concentrated botanical spirit, and buy the mixers on location. A good tonic, a local ginger beer, fresh lemon — and you have all your cocktails for the stay from a single bottle in the suitcase.
💡 The wine merchant's tip: alcohol-free spirit bases are compact and allow you to create many cocktails from a single 70cl bottle. It's the most cost-effective suitcase investment for the holidays. Browse our alcohol-free cocktail recipes for inspiration.
The perfect pairing: an improvised gin tonic or spritz with ingredients found locally — lemon, sparkling water, local tonic. A few fresh garnishes and you have a proper holiday cocktail, anywhere.
The summer rental — building your holiday bar
The minimum selection for a week with 6 people
You have a house or an apartment for a week or two. You're having friends over, firing up the barbecue, spending evenings on the terrace. This is the ideal setting for having a proper selection on hand.
Two approaches: bring the bottles in the car, or have an order delivered to the rental address before you arrive. The second option is often the most practical — you arrive, the box is there, your bar is ready. For a week with 6 people, the minimum selection:
→ Craft beers in a mix of styles (blonde, IPA, wheat)
→ 1 or 2 bottles of dealcoholised rosé for meals
→ 1 sparkling drink for the arrival toast
→ Ginger beers and kombuchas for active days
💡 The wine merchant's tip: incorporate a few local finds into your bar — craft beers from the region, kombucha from a local producer. These discoveries are part of the journey. You will also find certain Gueule de Joie references in our 250 V and B partner stockists — check our shops.
The perfect pairing: an evening barbecue with friends — dealcoholised rosé with white meats, blonde beer for the aperitif, ginger beer for those still dancing after midnight. Find all our pairings in the BBQ & alcohol-free guide.
Camping — the art of mobile alcohol-free drinking
Cans and concentrates: the winning format
Camping comes with a specific constraint: weight and volume. There's no question of packing glass bottles in a hiking rucksack.
The answer: cans. A craft beer can weighs half as much as a glass bottle. Alternative soft drinks in cans — ginger beer, kombucha — are perfect for camping: portable, no risk of breakage, and they bring real aromatic complexity at aperitif time in the open air.
For aperitifs at the bivouac, a quality concentrated syrup added to sparkling water gives you a Hugo or a pseudo-spritz in under a minute.
💡 The wine merchant's tip: think about the heat. Fermented drinks (kombucha, kefir) are more sensitive to extreme temperatures — keep them in the insulated pouch and consume them first. Craft beers and sodas are far more resilient.
The perfect pairing: the first cold blonde beer after a long hike — whatever the style, it's always the best beer of the summer.
What to do when the local selection is disappointing
It's the classic holiday scenario: you're in a Provençal village, the local minimarket offers two industrial alcohol-free beers. What do you do?
Explore local delicatessens and wine shops — in most tourist destinations, demand for alcohol-free options has grown enough for these shops to stock a few artisan references. And if you've brought your cocktail base, play with what you find locally: local sparkling water, fresh lemons, aromatic herbs.
But the real solution is to order before you leave. Having an order delivered to the rental address before your arrival guarantees you'll never find yourself facing that dilemma.
Your alcohol-free packing checklist
By car (1 week, 4–6 people)
- 6 to 12 cans of craft beers in a mix of styles
- 2 bottles of dealcoholised rosé
- 1 sparkling drink for the arrival toast
- 1 alcohol-free botanical spirit
- 4 ginger beers or kombuchas
- Fresh garnishes to buy locally
By plane
- 1 alcohol-free botanical spirit 70cl (in the hold, well packed)
- Mixers to buy locally
Camping
- Cans only, for weight reasons
- Ginger beer and blonde beer in cans
- Fermented drinks to consume first
Our full alcohol-free drinks selection
Also worth reading
- How to build your alcohol-free summer bar
- Barbecue & alcohol-free: the pairings that will surprise your guests
- Alcohol-free beer after sport: myth or genuine reflex?
Frequently asked questions
Can you take alcohol-free wine on a plane?
Yes, in the hold — not in the cabin beyond 100ml. Avoid sparkling drinks in the hold. Alcohol-free spirits with screw caps travel better.
How do I have an order delivered directly to my rental?
Enter the delivery address of the rental property when placing your order. Order 5 to 7 working days before your arrival. We deliver anywhere in mainland France.
What drink works for an active holiday (hiking, surfing, cycling)?
Opt for low-sugar drinks: wheat beer or blonde beer for rehydration, fruit kefir for lightness, ginger beer for natural recovery.
Do alcohol-free drinks hold up in the heat?
Craft beers and dealcoholised wines handle temperature variations well when kept away from direct light. Living kombuchas and kefirs are more sensitive — keep them cool as a priority.
There's nothing good in the alcohol-free range at holiday supermarkets — is that normal?
Artisan distribution remains geographically uneven. Order before you leave. Also check our partner shops — 250 V and B stockists across France.
Gueule de Joie — France's first alcohol-free wine merchant since 2019. Over 450 references selected for flavour, available with 72-hour delivery across France.
