Need a Non-Alc Drop for Your Next Dinner Party? Crack a Bottle of This

If you’ve never been to Yellow, do yourself a favour. The Sydney fine diner makes a compelling case for “botanical cuisine” through its six-course tasting menu, in which chef-owner Sander Nooij and his team transform various plants, herbs and flowers into edible works of art. 

Yellow is also one of several Aussie restaurants putting equal emphasis on its wine and non-alc drinks programs. But according to bartender Tim Grimes, that wasn’t always the case. 

“What’s great about a wine pairing is the storytelling and the depth of the winemaking process,” he tells Broadsheet. “It felt like [Yellow’s non-alc pairing] was lacking a bit of that.”

The solution was to create his own drinks for the restaurant, aspiring to the depth, complexity and food-friendliness of wine. He landed on tisanes – concoctions of various teas, herbs, fruits, vinegar and even mushrooms to mimic the characteristics of wine. Now, he’s releasing three of them under the label Bynomeans. 

“It’s not trying to be wine, and it’s not trying to replace wine,” he says. “It’s almost wanting to stand as its own thing – like a little cousin of wine.”

That said, Bynomeans is “inspired by the flavour and aromatics” of its older cousin, with Grimes using different wine types as jumping off points. Take the Bynomeans rosé: “One of the somms was talk about Provence-style rosé tasting like banana and clove,” he says. “We sort of laughed and I said, ‘let’s put some banana skins and cloves into a drink and see how we go’.”

For the brand’s pinot gris, white tea, verjus and kombu provide structure and acidity akin to a textural white wine. Meanwhile, thyme, peach and the unlikely addition of curry leaf invoke the nose of the real thing. “Curry leaf is this amazing aromatic … it’s got complexity and structure,” says Grimes. 

But the “banger of the bunch” is the pinot noir, with the addition of porcini mushroom emulating the earthiness of the cool-climate style. Vanilla nods to the flavours leached by aging in oak barrels, while cabernet vinegar and fig molasses give weight and complexity. Juicy cranberries tie it all together. 

Grimes is now in the process of moving on from Yellow, taking Bynomeans to the greater public. The idea is to offer a complex non-alcoholic option that should appeal to every kind of drinker.

“Say you’re going to someone’s house, and the ritual is to bring a bottle, right?” he says. “This still feels like you’re bringing something special. It doesn’t feel like an afterthought.”

Bynomeans is available online in single bottles ($37) and mixed packs (starting at $111). The brand is offering 15 per cent off all orders during January and is shipping nationwide. 

bynomeans.com