Proxies makes a non-alcoholic wine alternative using a blend of grapes, teas, spices, and complex ferments. 

We created Proxies for when you want something to drink but you’re not drinking. By blending wine grapes, fruits, teas, spices, and complex ferments, Proxies go way beyond the grape to capture everything that makes wine a great pairing with food—acidity, body, and tannin—without the alcohol. 

Charlie Friedmann

Devin Campbell

Scott Friedmann

Proxies non-alcoholic wines have received mixed reviews. While the brand has been praised for its marketing efforts and appeal to non-drinkers, many customers criticized the taste, likening it to bad kombucha or a poor mix of ingredients. Customer service and return policies have also been called into question.

Proxies

red wine

white wine

rose

sparkling

Drink

As someone who does not drink, I enjoy Proxies for evenings shared with guests or elevating a homemade dinner with my partner. In terms of a comparison to wine. I do not think this product tastes anything like wine, it lives somewhere closer to a fancy punch. I enjoy it enough, however, that I ordered 10 bottles for my wedding in 2022, as many of the guests were also non-drinkers. 

I was offered a BOGO deal when purchasing two bottles, so gave it a try. I guess calling it a "wine alternative" is an appropriate term, but after tasting both bottles (one red, one white) I wouldn't say anyone would think of this as wine. It's more like a type of kombucha packaged in wine bottles. The taste was okay, but nothing remotely like wine. At $19.99 per bottle, the price is waaaay too high, too. I didn't hate it, but I wouldn't buy it again.

Attractive marketing but it's impossible to finish your drink. There were 5 people at the table and everyone agreed: undrinkable. It looks like we mixed herbal tea, kombucha and kool-aid together. Can't call this a "good alternative to wine".

I really wanted to enjoy Proxies, but after buying 6 different bottles of a mix of red, rose and white wines I am entirely disappointed and feel as though I wasted my money. Not only were they not good to drink, but actually smelt and tasted like they had gone bad and was not enjoyable to drink. I'll have to admit the white ones are drinkable when you toss a little sparkling water or frozen fruit in the mix, however not worth the high price. The reds - holly molly - I tried everything - the pairings, letting it breathe, asking others to drink it, and it just tasted like watered down rancid beet juice. The smell is awful too. They are doing great for marketing, clearly, I was convinced to buy a case, but they are sitting in my fridge and not drinkable in my eyes. Save your money, and make yourself some yummy mocktails at home. I also tried to reach out to Proxies to let them know about this experience (in case it was a bad batch, or something happened during shipping), and the best they could offer was a 20% discount on future offers, which after trying 6 different bottles is not the direction I'll go. 

Undrinkable: tried 6 different bottles and all were terrible and had to be poured out. So disappointing. Do not buy this product if you like wine. I feel duped by a clever instagram campaign.

I got a variety set and each one was terrible in its own way. I didn’t expect them to taste exactly like wine (especially the “champagne” substitute) but honestly I could’ve just had seltzer in a stem glass. I’d prefer no flavor at all to these. The color is murky and the flavors are heavy and really unpleasant. I can’t imagine what foods they think this would pair with. The red wine actually gave my husband stomach issues. Not good. 

I got “Red ember” from a local store.. so glad i didn’t buy a whole case. I’d explored their website before and been inclined to order based on all the 5 star reviews. After trying it, I had to double check their website, because this doesn’t deserve anywhere close to 5 stars. If you go in expecting kombucha, you won’t be disappointed. Unsure how they can charge so much for cloudy juice. It even hurt my stomach a bit. 5/5 for their marketing team though….  

Out of the case of four I dumped in the sink two of the bottles as they were completely undrinkable. Two were consumed just of pure greed for the money spent. Stay away from this. 
For $25 a bottle they could have added some bitters and stuff for a complex aroma..  
This purchase of $118 is incredibly disappointing...

Smells like moldy kombucha and tastes like kombucha and kool aid. My wife and I had to pinch our nose to drink the Red Clay. Site also misleadingly does not clearly state a “no returns” policy for any unopened product. Misleading reviews on site as well. I contacted the CEO directly and he couldn’t give me a straight answer as to why they don’t clearly state their return policy.

This stuff was just awful.. bought a whole case and could not return any of it.  Such a disappointing waste of money.  I was excited to try it, but each of the 3 varieties smelled so disgusting I couldn't drink a bit.  My husband and I both agreed that it was a sickening rotted smell...  Poured it all down the sink.  The company refused to allow any return.  I feel stupid for being influenced by their marketing.

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