14 | BC B U S I N E SS NOVEM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2025 Stephanie Lucile
| INBOX
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with people in the wine indus-
try these days is a little bit like
being in an Old Testament bible
study group. If it's not the ram-
pant fires, it's the killer frosts
and even when the crop does
survive it's met with indifference
from a global population that is
moving away from fermented
grape juice in unprecedented
numbers. But, thankfully, it's not
all doom and gloom—there's one
category in the wine world that's
on such a tear that it's forecasted
to double its revenues in Canada
by 2030. But when Jane Stoller
first had the idea to get into
the non-alcoholic wine game
she wasn't anticipating any of
this—she simply wanted to find a
way to enjoy her cherished glass
of bubbles without waking up
groggy.
Well, that's not entirely true.
Yes, Stoller loved her bubbles
(her nickname then, as now, is
Champagne Jane), but she was
also a serial entrepreneur and
business coach who had a knack
for hitting on trends that she was
personally invested in. It was
over a glass of de-alcoholized
French wine at a Whistler retreat
that she wondered why there
was nothing local catering to
the market of those who wanted
serious wine sans the alcohol.
There had to be a better way
than paying a premium to have
wine shipped halfway across
the world to serve what seemed
like a growing demographic of
people interested in decreasing
their alcohol consumption. She
did a deep dive into the market
and the results were encouraging: Europe
was already seeing a huge move toward non-
alc products, with figures showing that one
in 15 beers sold on the continent were now
alcohol free—and wine seemed to be follow-
ing the same trend.
So, there was a future, but what sort of
product? She had a love for sparkling as a
starting point, and after tasting through a
multitude of sparkling, red, white and rosé
wines she was confident that, to her think-
ing, the sparkling products came closest
to mirroring the taste of "normal" wine.
So, that moment of truth: an entrepreneur
has a good idea in a growing market, but
now what? Stoller knew enough to realize
she'd need some partners. That's when she
thought of a former coaching client of hers,
Marina Billinghurst, who had solid back-
ground in marketing and creative design—
and, given that Billinghurst's brother owns
Three Sisters winery, was someone with
an understanding of the idiosyncrasies of
the local wine industry. Billinghurst took
very little convincing, and a partnership was
formed. "We knew it would cost 10 times
more than we planned for, but we were
undaunted," recalls Stoller.
A final—and crucial—piece of the puzzle
fell into place in an oddly fitting locale when
Stoller met Janet Helou at the Wild Blue
long-table dinner in Whistler. Not only was
Helou a food scientist, she had also been
working with Charton Hobbs, the national
representative for LVMH: makers of Veuve
Clicquot, Dom Perignon, Krug and Moët
and the unquestioned leader in both the
production and marketing of champagne.
She loved the concept and was interested in
We knew it would
cost 10 times more than
we planned for, but
we were undaunted."
JANE STOLLER,
CEO, GLIMMER
