Why Irene Falcone is a rebel without a drink

TWO months ago, NSW Health launched a "Drink Less. Live More" campaign specifically targeting northern beaches women. This was because their most recent (pre-pandemic) data showed that they had the highest rate of alcohol-related hospitalisations, 40 per cent higher than the NSW average.

Their research also showed that females aged 50-59 were the most likely to exceed lifetime risk drinking (two or more standard drinks per day) compared to all other female groups.

And while Australians generally are cutting back on drinking, this isn't the case on the Beaches. In a 2020 NSW Health survey of 583 women aged 35-59 years in the northern beaches, 97 per cent drank alcohol, 56 per cent believed there was problematic drinking in this age group and 81 per cent reported all gatherings they attend have alcohol present.

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None of this comes as a surprise to Clontarf entrepreneur Irene Falcone, who launched Sans Drinks - a month before the Beaches went into lockdown - after deciding to change her own relationship with alcohol.

"I love wine so much," she said.

"I've always clicked with wine. I drank so much of it. But as we get older, our bodies find it more difficult to cope with the amount of alcohol we put in our bodies. I was looking at my general health and I was drinking way too much and I realised I needed to cut back."

At a bottle shop, her request for alcohol-free wine was met with strange looks. As the founder and former CEO of natural beauty empire Nourished Life 10 years ago, she knew those looks; they were the same when she had asked for aluminium-free deodorant. She set about launching her own alcohol-free business: sourcing, trialling and understanding the many and varied products, markets and brands. She initially launched online, but soon opened a bricks and mortar store in Freshwater to cope with demand.

"I had just sold Nourished Life and was feeling a bit down which is probably why I was drinking so much," she said. "I was in pain, I was really missing not having a business, my heart was hurting through not having that connection with customers and I was really looking for what to do. Then this came along, bang! I was able to start the business straight away because I had such a good strong gut feel that this was going to be a new trend."

As part of the NSW Health "Drink Less. Live More." campaign, Mona Vale Hospital shared the story of Joanne (real name withheld), a woman in her mid-50's from the northern beaches.

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"I have been wanting to reduce my alcohol intake for quite a while but struggled," she said. "Every time I thought I would cut-down/only drink on weekends/only have two glasses a night, I wouldn't stick to it. The breakthrough for me was the availability of alcohol-free wine. Now if I want a drink, I just reach for the alcohol-free bottle. I have no headache, no sickness, no guilt. I haven't stopped drinking alcohol completely, still the odd glass here and there, but the at-home situation is completely different. This has changed my life."

Ms Falcone said she has heard dozens of similar tales; her typical customer is a woman looking for alcohol-free wine. "They are generally over 40, looking to get healthy and lose weight, it's the next step in their wellness journey," she said.

"Then there's the grumpy customer - older men who have been told to come by their doctor. I usually start them off on beer and sparkling wine because they are a little closer to the real thing."

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The pandemic and all of its associated stresses and lockdowns forced many of us to look at our drinking habits. And, according to Ms Falcone, what we found was not pretty.

"Generally, my customer base are people who drink a lot and they are trying to cut back," she said. "When lockdown ended, people realised they drank too much during COVID. There's no judgment here, it's about giving people a choice and letting them know there are other options."

Her aim is to roll out 20 Sans Drinks stores in the next five years, and she is also keen to develop some private label non-alcohol wines with wineries.

She no longer drinks alcohol. "I haven't gone back because for me as a 40-plus aged woman, alcohol doesn't really agree with me and I need to be up early and on my game," she said. "And I have no need - I would prefer to open one of my non alcoholic wines than an alcoholic wine. But everyone's different and this is what works for me.

"I was born to help people discover things they didn't know existed."

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