Today, Proxies turns three. In three years we’ve accomplished so much. Nearly 100 different blends of this new form of wine alternative. Six game-changing collabs with titans of the food and drinks world. Hundreds of thousands of bottles sold. And thousands upon thousands of new friends, fans, and strangers who just like to drink better when not drinking alcohol.
This past year has been particularly transformative. My daughter also turned three this year, so I know how quickly things can change at this age. One day you just start selling at Erewhon, Sprouts, Foxtrot, and Binny’s, and writing your name with no help. You launch single-serve sparkling rosé cans to rave reviews (stay tuned for more on these soon!), and you get dressed in thirteen different shades of pink all by yourself. You collaborate with chefs like Dominique Crenn, Beverly Kim, and Johnny Clark and the trailblazing winemakers at Division Winemaking Co., and you learn how to spell coffee. But maybe neither of those things is particularly normal for a three-year-old.
When we started, non-alc wine was a disdained category. Chefs, somms (and our team!) didn’t like what was on the market—and that’s putting it nicely. To shift the narrative so strongly, so quickly is beyond my wildest imagination. Dominique Crenn is one of the best chefs in the world. And she just organically wanted to throw herself into creating a new blend with us?
All our success is thanks to our amazing team, customers, and retail and restaurant partners. They showed the world there is demand for a better wine alternative. They continuously help us make better and better products with feedback and reviews. They asked for sparkling and for single-serve Proxies, and those have been some of our biggest successes to date. They keep asking for a bigger, bolder red—and I promise we’re listening!
A lot more has happened this year too—we won Best Wine Alternative at The World Alcohol-Free Awards, we grew into hundreds more restaurants and retailers across North America, we launched our new permanent sparkling Gold Crush, we were lucky enough to meet some of you at events in Chicago, Toronto, LA, and NY, and so much more. So as the year comes to a close—whether you’re toasting with a glass of wine, a glass of Proxies, or both—here’s to a happy and healthy new year with great food on the table and delicious drinks in your glass.
See you in Dry January (or as I prefer, Dryish January) with more updates to come!
Scott Friedmann Devin Campbell Peta Suzanne Oshry Michael McAvena Yash Raghuvanshi Sarah F. Carmen Felix Cole Pearsall