America's top-selling sparkling wine brand has crossed into the non-alcoholic category. La Marca Prosecco announced the launch of La Marca Non-Alcoholic Sparkling — its first NA product — a carbonated de-alcoholized wine carrying less than 0.5% ABV, made with Italian grapes and priced at a $18.99 suggested retail. For beverage program directors and on-premise buyers, the move is a signal worth noting: a heritage sparkling brand with meaningful shelf velocity is now competing directly in the NA set.
The Crossover Buyer Case
The strategic rationale behind the launch leans heavily on a Nielsen data point published in January 2026: more than 90% of non-alcoholic beverage buyers also purchase alcohol. That figure reframes how operators should think about the NA occasion — not as a separate consumer segment requiring a separate program, but as an incremental touchpoint for the same guest who is already ordering from your wine list. Caitlin Conroy, Director of Marketing for La Marca, framed it plainly: "Consumers want more flexibility in what they bring to the table, without compromising taste." That framing matters for on-premise menu positioning, where NA sparkling has historically landed awkwardly between juice and cocktail sections.
The product itself is produced in Italy using a low-temperature dealcoholization process, which La Marca says preserves the fresh character and fruit-forward profile — notes of crisp apple, white peach, and delicate citrus — associated with its core Prosecco line. The production approach is worth calling out: cold-process dealcoholization is increasingly the quality benchmark buyers use to distinguish premium NA wines from lower-tier entries, and Italian origin adds a credibility layer that domestic NA sparklings often lack.
What Buyers Should Watch
For retail buyers and distributor networks, La Marca's entry shifts the competitive dynamics in the NA sparkling subcategory. Brands like Leitz, Oddbird, and Gruvi have built the early market; a brand with the distribution infrastructure and name recognition of La Marca — backed by E&J Gallo — entering at $18.99 will put pressure on mid-tier NA sparkling pricing and could accelerate category shelf space at grocery and off-premise chains that have been cautious about allocating NA wine facings.
On-premise operators evaluating beverage program expansion should consider where a recognizable, accessible NA sparkling fits in banquet, catering, and event service — occasions where guests may be pregnant, sober, or simply moderating, but where the aesthetic of a sparkling wine pour still matters. At $18.99 SRP, the by-the-glass math works for most full-service models, and the La Marca brand reduces the explanation burden that lesser-known NA labels carry with both staff and guests.
For a deeper look at how operators are building moderation-forward beverage programs, see our coverage of emerging beverage trends reshaping hospitality menus and our roundup of non-alcoholic brand positioning strategies for on-premise.
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.
