Business of Drinks 92: How FRE Became the Sleeper Giant of Non-Alc Wine — with Brie Wohld, Trinchero Family Estates
FRE is one of the most quietly powerful brands in American wine. Launched in 1992, it now holds 48% dollar share of the U.S. non-alcoholic wine market, sells ~439,000 cases a year, and is growing nearly 16% in volume YOY — all while the broader wine category softens.
In this episode, Brie Wohld, Vice President of Marketing at Trinchero Family Estates, breaks down how a 30-year-old NA brand is driving double-digit growth and helping keep wine culturally relevant for flexi-drinkers.
🔶 Legacy innovation: Why Trinchero invested early in spinning cone technology in 1992, spending more than $1M to build a quality-first NA wine more than two decades before “sober curious” entered the cultural vocabulary.
🔶 Strategic hedge: How FRE acts as both a business hedge against wine headwinds and a cultural hedge that keeps consumers walking the wine aisle and maintaining wine rituals — even on non-drinking days.
🔶 Portfolio architecture: How the team maps varietals and formats (sparkling, reds/whites, minis, new Pinot Grigio) to specific occasions without overwhelming shoppers.
🔶 Brand evolution for younger drinkers: Updating design, tone, and partnerships to speak to Millennial and Gen Z lifestyles, without alienating loyal Boomers.
🔶 Data-driven growth: Expanding to 28,000+ accounts, adding 4,000 new points of distribution YOY, leaning into grocery and mass, and using social (especially TikTok) to deliver real value — recipes, pairings, and city guides, not just bottle shots.
🔶 Moderation, not morality: Why 93% of NA buyers also purchase alcohol, and how FRE leads with a message of “choice over judgment” to support everything from Dry January to zebra striping.
If you’re building a legacy brand — or trying to future-proof one — this episode is a playbook on staying relevant, expanding occasions, and using non-alc as a growth engine rather than a threat.
Don’t miss our next episode, dropping on December 3.
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Business of Drinks:
Erica Duecy, co-host: Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs the consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.
Scott Rosenbaum, co-host: Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. Most recently, he was the Portfolio Development Director at Distill Ventures. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor.
Caroline Lamb, contributor: Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a key account sales and marketing specialist at AHD Vintners, a Michigan-based importer and distributor.
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