Creating a great non-alcoholic red wine is no easy task, but Tomorrow Cellars is taking on that challenge with years of expertise, carefully selected ingredients, and an innovative approach to winemaking. In this Q&A, we chat with co-founder Tracy Sweeney about her 20 years in the wine industry, what inspired her to create Tomorrow Cellars, the process behind their non-alcoholic wines, and what it really takes to create a red with depth, structure, and character.
Plus, we get into a few favorite food pairings and what choosing non-alcoholic wine can make room for in our everyday lives.
Let’s jump right in!
For those who are new to Tomorrow Cellars, can you tell us a little about the brand and what you’re all about?
Tomorrow Cellars is for wine lovers who want to take a break from alcohol, but not give up wine. Whether that break is just for the night or forever, we craft our wines with California-grown grape varietals and traditional winemaking techniques to deliver the full experience of a glass of wine—just without the alcohol.
We believe wine has always been about more than alcohol. It’s the ritual of opening a bottle, the way it brings people together, and how it can slow down a moment and make it feel a little more intentional. We want people to be able to keep all of that, whether or not they’re drinking alcohol.
Before Tomorrow Cellars, you spent 20 years working in the traditional wine industry. What did that chapter of your career look like, and what eventually led you into the non-alcoholic space?
My journey to NA wines began with my interest in drinking a little less without giving up wine. I live and work in the Napa Valley and have raised my kids here. Wine is more than a beverage here; it is part of our lifestyle and present in everyday moments. I started exploring non-alcoholic wines and found there weren’t many that truly delivered what I considered an approachable and delicious California NA wine. About that same time, I was approached by a neighbor, David Risher – now my co-founder of Tomorrow Cellars – who was also starting to think about where wine fit into his life and his desire for a quality non-alcoholic option. We both agreed there should be more choices for wine enthusiasts for those occasions when they wanted a glass of wine, but not necessarily the alcohol. From there, Tomorrow Cellars was born and we set about creating a wine we wanted to drink and share with others. I consider what we are doing with Tomorrow Cellars and extension of my life in the wine industry not a departure from it.
Pictured: Tracy and her daughter Clare.
For someone who doesn’t know much about how non-alcoholic wine is made, can you walk us through the process a little?
We start by making a base wine just as you would a traditional wine. That means working closely with our winemaker to be thoughtful about varietal selection and using traditional winemaking techniques to create a beautiful, expressive wine from the start.
From there, we remove the alcohol through a process called vacuum distillation. By creating a vacuum, we’re able to lower the temperature at which alcohol evaporates, so we can gently remove it without exposing the wine to the higher temperatures that could damage its flavor and character. The goal is to preserve as much of the original wine experience as possible.
We’re featuring the Tomorrow Red Blend in our New Vintage box. Can you take us behind the scenes of creating it? How did you approach the varietals, flavor, and overall structure of the wine?
Non-alcoholic reds are notoriously difficult to make. Red wines typically start with more alcohol, and the more alcohol you remove, the more you risk losing some of the body, flavor and structure that make a red wine satisfying. So we knew we needed to be really intentional—and think outside the box a little.
We had noticed that some non-alcoholic wine drinkers were adding a few drops of bitters to their reds to give them more body and complexity. That made us think: Why not build that idea into the wine itself?
We worked with Ian Blessing, the sommelier and co-founder behind All The Bitter, to develop a custom botanical extract specifically for our Red Blend. It’s made with whole ingredients like blueberries and cassis and is added after the alcohol is removed. It’s a little bit of the magic behind the finished wine, helping bring back that mouthfeel, depth and structure you expect from a great red. We’re really proud of this wine and think it stands up to any traditional red out there!
Beyond the Red Blend, we often hear people talk about depth and structure as a challenge with non-alcoholic wine. How do you think about those elements when creating your wines?
We agree, depth and structure are challenges in making a delicious non-alcoholic red wine. We approached the crafting of Tomorrow Red blend with the idea we didn’t want to be tempted to build back with sugars and juices like many other NA red wines contained, instead we were thoughtful in the how the wine was made start to finish and ensured we had a flavorful, structured wine going into the de-alching step.
Our Red Blend is made from a bold grape – Petite Sirah – which we believe delivers more complexity than some other varietals through to the dealcoholized wine. We also intentional age the wine in oak for 14 months prior to removing the alcohol to give more structure to the base wine. And finally the final blending in of our bespoke botanical extracts after the alcohol is removed – although just a tiny addition, we believe the intensity of flavor enhances the overall complexity of the wine and gives the consumer a more accessible wine.
For someone trying Tomorrow Cellars for the first time, what do you hope they take away from that first glass?
Our favorite reaction is, “Wow, I can’t believe this doesn’t have alcohol in it.”
We want that first glass to feel like a true wine experience—to surprise people with the flavor, depth and complexity that non-alcoholic wine can have. But beyond what’s in the glass, we hope Tomorrow allows people to stay connected to whatever they love about wine in the first place, whether that’s gathering around a table with friends, pairing a bottle with dinner, or simply pouring a glass to wind down at the end of the day.
Pictured: Tracy’s car, complete with a “SipZero” license plate, out visiting vineyards.
We get asked about food pairings all the time. What would you put on the table alongside the Tomorrow Red Blend?
A current favorite is ramen! We recently tried the at-home kits from Kenchan Ramen and paired our Red Blend with the white miso ramen. So good.
We also love the Red Blend with tomato-based dishes. A classic Margherita pizza is always a winner, and it’s also great with something fresh and savory like a panzanella. It’s a really food-friendly red, so this is one we have a lot of fun experimenting with.
With Sober October here, we’ve been thinking a lot about what having more thoughtful non-alcoholic options makes space for. What does that look like to you?
We’re all about choosing NA so you can crush tomorrow. That idea was part of the genesis of Tomorrow Cellars, and it’s something we always come back to. Choosing not to drink on a given night can create space for whatever you want to show up for the next day.
For me, sometimes that means having the energy to tackle the never-ending project of the rose bushes at our house. Other times, it means being more present with my family and friends after a long day working on Tomorrow Cellars. It doesn’t always have to be about some big accomplishment. It’s really about making a choice tonight that helps you show up the way you want to tomorrow.
