L'OFFICIEL, JANUARY, 2026
Le Meurice Celebrates January with Exceptional Alcohol-Free Pairings
At the heart of the Parisian winter, Le Meurice reinvents Dry January as a gastronomic celebration where sobriety becomes an art of living.
by Pauline Borgogno
A Manifesto for Alcohol-Free Gastronomy
January is no longer that month of quiet asceticism following the holiday festivities. At Le Meurice, it takes on a new elegance—one of joyful, indulgent sobriety, resolutely celebrated. Now a ritual after the excesses of year-end celebrations, the Dry January experience finds here an exceptional setting, where alcohol-free offerings rise to the level of gastronomic expression.
For the past two years, a fruitful collaboration has united the Parisian palace with Benoît d’Onofrio, also known as the Sobrelier. Together, they explore food and “sobrewage” pairings at Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, driven by a shared commitment: French sourcing, a near zero-waste approach, and a bold vision of alcohol-free creations conceived as a territory for creativity in their own right. Alongside Chef Amaury Bouhours and Head Sommelier Gabriel Veissaire, this partnership has naturally evolved into a manifesto for a new kind of Dry January.
A Sensory Dialogue Between Plate and Glass
The experience begins upon arrival with Courge de Là, a finely sparkling sobereverage blending Chasselas grape, butternut squash, passion tagetes, and physalis. Crafted using a method inspired by natural sparkling wines, it opens the meal like a promise—that of uncompromising gastronomy. Three creations then follow, designed in resonance with the chef’s boldly textured cuisine. Let It Beet, vintage 2025, is born from a spontaneous fermentation of Muscat of Hamburg, purple shiso, Crapaudine beetroot, whole pomegranate, and southernwood. How Can You Mangue a Broken Heart and Random Access Memoris, both vintage 2024, have gained depth over time, refining their structure much like a great white wine. A sensory composition where plate and glass converse with rare intensity.
Dry January, Reimagined
Because January does not forbid celebration, Le Meurice extends the experience at Restaurant Le Dalí. Here, Dry January becomes sparkling thanks to the alcohol-free cuvées French Bloom Extra Brut, Rosé, and Vintage 2023, offered throughout the month to accompany Chef Clémentine Bouchon’s seasonal cuisine. A luminous, light, and festive interlude.
Finally, Bar 228 offers a nod to its history by revisiting its iconic cocktail. Created in 2000 for the bar’s reopening, the Millenium becomes Millenium .0, crafted with French Bloom Rosé. A festive, precise, and delicate cocktail to raise a glass to the new year—without alcohol, yet never without flair.
At Le Meurice, Dry January is not a renunciation; it is a celebration. A celebration of inventive gastronomy, reinvented pleasure, and an elegance that, even in sobriety, never relinquishes exceptionality.
