Roots Divino

The Smyrlakis brothers founded the brand as part of the Finest Roots portfolio, an independent Greek craft spirits company. The family's involvement in distilling traces to 1850, when a distillery in Patras was established, and it is from that long-standing production heritage that Manos and Nikolas drew in approaching the alcohol-free category. Roots Divino launched in 2019, with the brand entering the UK market in 2020, positioned as the first alcohol-free vermouth-style aperitif from Greece.

The production route begins with full-strength vermouth. The alcohol is then removed using reverse osmosis. The method works by pushing the liquid through membranes that allow alcohol molecules to pass through whilst retaining the volatile botanical compounds that give vermouth its character and structure. The result is a dealcoholised vermouth rather than a botanical soft drink, and that distinction matters both to how the drink tastes and to how it sits in a glass.

The range consists of two colour variants reflecting the white and red vermouth traditions. The white style carries rosemary, thyme, and lemon; the red draws on bitter orange, gentian, and wormwood. Both reflect the botanical complexity of the vermouth base they began as, rather than the softer, sweeter profiles typical of AF aperitifs built from scratch.

Roots Divino is available through specialist online channels. For sober-curious drinkers drawn to the pre-dinner ritual, the dealcoholised vermouth approach gives the brand a structural credibility that botanical-infusion alternatives often lack.