Every dinner party has one. The guest who isn't drinking, standing by the hob holding a glass of tap water like it's a hostage negotiation. Sometimes that guest is the host.
I used to be a big wine drinker. Now I run a shop full of alcohol-free drinks in Otley, which as career pivots go is like a retired chip shop owner opening a salad bar. Still, it means I've done the homework so you don't have to.
So here's the drinks list. Twelve picks, course by course, from the doorbell to the last spoon of pudding. No warm elderflower pressé. Nobody deserves that.
The short answer
The best non-alcoholic drinks for a dinner party are the ones that do a job with the food. Something dry and fizzy when people arrive. A bitter spritz with the nibbles. A crisp white or sparkling tea with starters. A proper red with the main. Something dark and rich with pudding, and a slow sipper to finish.
In other words, plan it like a wine list, not a soft drinks aisle. Three or four well-chosen bottles beat twelve random cans.
How to plan dinner party drinks without alcohol
Start with the menu, then work backwards. Light, zingy food wants acidity and bubbles. Rich, slow-cooked food wants tannin, bitterness or a bit of body. Puddings want something at least as sweet as they are, or your drink will taste like a lemon.
Next, think in moments: arrival, table, pudding, sofa. Each one needs a different drink, the same way you wouldn't serve Rioja with a trifle. Unless you've lost a bet.
And buy enough. Allow two or three glasses per person across the evening, more if it's a long one. Alcohol-free drinks go faster than you'd think when they're actually nice. If you want a worked example with timings, here's our alcohol-free dinner party, from doorbell to taxi.
12 best non-alcoholic drinks for dinner parties, course by course
Arrival: the fizz and the spritz
1. Wild Idol 0.0% Sparkling White. First impressions matter. Wild Idol Sparkling White is a true 0.0% fizz with green apple, citrus and white peach, fine bubbles and a clean, crisp finish. Pour it into flutes as people take their coats off and the whole room straightens its posture. It's the James Bond of the list. Expensive-looking, and it knows it.
2. A bitter orange spritz. Smiling Wolf Aperitivo is bittersweet and orangey, made from Italian wine and 18 herbs and bitters. Big wine glass, lots of ice, top with soda, slice of orange. Brilliant with olives, crisps and anything salty. Your guests will feel like they're in Venice. Your kitchen will still smell of roast potatoes.
Starters: the fresh stuff
3. Copenhagen Sparkling Tea Lysegrøn. This is the one people ask about. Lysegrøn (Light Green) is a sparkling tea blended by a Danish sommelier, with lemongrass, green tea, orange peel and green apple. It's citrusy and elegant, and it loves salads, goat's cheese, prawns and anything herby. It's also the bottle most likely to make someone say "hang on, that's tea?"
4. Miris Blend Édition Premier Blanc. If there's fish on the menu, this is your white. Édition Premier Blanc is a German blend of Riesling, Muscat, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, with elderflower, lemon, gooseberry and a salty sea-breeze finish. Lively acidity, a touch off-dry. Lovely with fish, roast chicken or a creamy risotto. (Yes, there's elderflower in it. It's allowed. It's not the pressé.)
5. Balfour Noble Alibi English Rosé. An alcohol-free rosé from Kent, made from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, the same grapes behind England's best fizz. Noble Alibi is a still rosé full of strawberry and raspberry, with a hint of cream. Great with salmon, charcuterie or a summery tart. Also the best name ever given to a drink you hand the designated driver.
The main event
6. Miris Blend Cabernet Sauvignon. The red I'd put on the table with a stew. Miris Blend Cabernet has blackcurrant, dark plum, a lick of vanilla and silky tannins, from grapes grown by Lake Balaton in Hungary. Give it 20 minutes in the fridge and serve it with beef, lamb, mushrooms or a cheese board. For the full rundown on reds, read my honest alcohol-free red wine review.
7. A crisp lager for the spicy main. Curry, tacos, anything with chilli? Wine struggles. A cold, clean lager doesn't. Pick one from our alcohol-free lager and pils range and serve it in a proper glass, not the can. Yes, even at a dinner party. Especially at a dinner party.
8. Kombucha in a wine glass. Dry, tart kombucha does a lot of what wine does at the table. Acidity, a bit of tannin from the tea, a gentle fizz. It's how I replaced my own evening glass of wine, and I've never looked back, mainly because looking back gives me a bad neck. More in kombucha for wine lovers.
Cheese and pudding
9. A pale ale with the cheese. Controversial, but hear me out. Hoppy bitterness cuts through a strong cheddar better than most alcohol-free reds. Grab something citrusy and hoppy from the pale ale shelf and watch the cheese board people quietly convert.
10. Mash Gang Lesser Evil. Cake in a glass, their words, and they're not wrong. Lesser Evil is a thick chocolate and cherry stout with cacao, vanilla and oats, and somehow no dairy at all. Pour small measures into little glasses next to a chocolate pudding or a Black Forest gateau. Very Abigail's Party, in the best possible way.
The finish
11. Three Spirit Nightcap. For the bit where everyone moves to the sofa and nobody wants to go home. Three Spirit Nightcap is woody and spicy, with maple, vanilla, hazelnut and a warming, peppery finish. Serve it over ice with a few dashes of bitters. It's made with botanicals including lemon balm, valerian and hops, so check the label if anyone's on medication.
12. A proper pot of tea, or decaf coffee. Not glamorous. Not on any influencer's mood board. But at half ten, a pot of tea is the most welcome drink in the house. Nobody in history has left a dinner party saying "the tea ruined it".
How to serve alcohol-free drinks so it looks like you tried
Glassware matters. Wine in wine glasses, spritzes in big goblets, beer in beer glasses. Drinking a £16 alcohol-free wine out of a mug that says "World's Best Grandad" does nobody any favours.
Temperature matters too. Fizz and whites well chilled, reds lightly chilled, stout just below room temperature. And put the alcohol-free bottles on the table, not hidden in the fridge door next to the ketchup.
If you're buying several bottles, the maths gets kinder. Mix six bottles of wine or spirits for 10% off, or twelve for 15%, with our build-a-wine-box. Delivery is free on UK mainland orders over £85, and £4.95 under.
Why bother? Because half your table might thank you
That one guest who isn't drinking might be three. Drinkaware's 2025 research found 44% of UK adults now use no- or low-alcohol drinks to help moderate their drinking, up from 31% in 2018.
One of them will be the mate who swapped hangovers for five-hour Sunday runs. They'll leave before pudding because they're up at five. Still out of the game, just in Lycra now. Pour them a stout anyway.
The serious bit
Plenty of drinks sold as alcohol-free, including some on this list, contain up to 0.5% ABV. That's a trace, but it isn't zero. If a guest is pregnant, in recovery, avoiding alcohol for religious reasons or on medication, tell them what's in the bottle, or stick to 0.0% drinks like Wild Idol. Our 0.0% collection makes that easy.
If you're worried about your own drinking, or someone else's, Drinkaware and the NHS both offer free, confidential advice. You're not the only one asking.
Kombucha Kev, Functional Drinks Club
