New York-based Paragraph is expanding its non-alcoholic fine wine portfolio with the October 1 launch of Paragraph Chardonnay, a 100% French Chardonnay with alcohol removed to below 0.5% ABV — giving the brand its first white SKU and a two-wine range entering the critical holiday selling window at a $38 suggested retail price.
The addition moves Paragraph from a single-expression label — its Spanish Tempranillo — to a red-and-white portfolio built around distinct origins, grape varieties, and occasion sets. For distributors and on-premise buyers navigating a fast-growing non-alc segment, the second SKU meaningfully expands the brand's planogram footprint and broadens its pitch to sommeliers, buyers, and retail chain planners looking to merchandise complete non-alc wine fixtures.
Production & Sourcing
The Chardonnay is sourced from cooler vineyard sites in Southwest France, where altitude and Atlantic and Pyrenean influences drive the natural acidity the production team was targeting. According to Head Winemaker Duncan Shouler, partial malolactic fermentation and French oak aging were used to build mid-palate texture and complexity before dealcoholization. Alcohol removal employs low-temperature vacuum distillation at approximately 86°F (30°C) with integrated aroma-capture technology — a process designed to preserve volatile aromatic compounds that are typically lost in conventional thermal stripping. No exogenous flavors are added post-process, keeping the finished product compliant with clean-label positioning that resonates across both retail and on-premise channels.
The wine was developed in collaboration with Familia Muga, Paragraph's strategic wine partner, which also contributed to the Tempranillo. That continuity in winemaking partnership signals a supply-chain structure built for consistency rather than opportunistic co-pack sourcing — an important signal for import buyers assessing long-term SKU viability.
Route-to-Market Outlook
With both red and white now in range, Paragraph enters Q4 with a portfolio capable of supporting gifting sets, end-cap placement, and by-the-glass on-premise programs — all channels where dual-variety non-alc wine brands have outperformed single-expression competitors in recent seasons. The non-alc wine segment broadly has seen accelerating depletion velocity in off-premise as mindful drinking behavior embeds further into mainstream consumer habits, with premium price tiers above $25 SRP leading volume growth according to category tracking across major off-premise chains.
At $38 SRP, Paragraph positions itself firmly in the premium non-alc tier, above mass-market entries but below ultra-premium collectors' releases. That price architecture supports retail margin structures comparable to still wine in the $20–$40 range, reducing buyer friction in shelf-set negotiations. For the three-tier system, the brand's clean production story and fine-wine credentialing — real vineyard sourcing, named winemaker, named partner domaine — differentiates it from private-label non-alc wine that has crowded mid-tier shelf space.
Founder Steve Arora framed the Chardonnay launch as an occasion and pairing play as much as a portfolio extension, noting the white opens new drinking moments — aperitif, seafood, soft cheeses — that the Tempranillo could not address. For distributors pitching on-premise accounts, that occasion breadth translates directly into by-the-glass program versatility and wine list placement across multiple dayparts.
For more on the expanding non-alc segment's distribution dynamics, see our coverage of non-alcoholic beverage route-to-market trends and premium wine import supply chain developments.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
