Non-alcoholic drinks that can handle the game stew

I've lost count of how many times I've set out a glass of apple juice for the guest who doesn't drink alcohol, while the rest of the table gets red wine with the game stew. The juice sits there sweet and apologetic next to a sauce heavy with cream, game and slow-cooked root vegetables – and it doesn't win any battles. Sweet against fat is a bad match; it just makes both worse.

Autumn food is the problem alcohol-free guides rarely tackle. Most mocktail tips are written for the terrace, with berries and mint and plenty of ice. But what do you do when the plate has dark sauce, game flavour and a spoonful of lingonberry jam on the side?

Cream sauce and game stew are fatty, umami-rich dishes. Fat coats the palate, and what you need in the glass is something that cuts through it – acidity, bitterness, tannins or a sharp herbal note. This is the same logic that makes a tannin-rich red wine work with a salty, fatty steak: the salt softens the tannins, and the wine's acidity washes the palate clean between bites. Without alcohol, you have to find that same resistance elsewhere.

This is where I think many non-alcoholic options fall short. Apple juice, blackcurrant cordial, even non-alcoholic wine can quickly become too sweet to last through a whole main course of stew and sauce. The solution is to think more like a bartender than a juice producer.

A shrub is an old American technique where fruit, sugar and vinegar are cooked together into a tart syrup. It sounds strange in a glass meant for dinner, but the sharpness of the vinegar does exactly the job fatty food needs. Make a simple lingonberry or rowanberry shrub with a bit of apple cider vinegar, mix it with sparkling water and a splash of orange, and you have something that can actually stand up to a rich cream sauce without drowning in sweetness.

You don't have to make a shrub from scratch either. Fermented botanical drinks move in the same landscape: tartness, depth and a touch of the wild. Villbrygg Fjell 01 from Vinmonopolet is described by the retailer as "juicy and soft, fermented character of lingonberry, rosemary, foliage, yoghurt and citrus, a hint of salt" – a profile that resembles a sharp aperitif more than juice, and which therefore has something to offer against game and root vegetables.

The second direction is herbal tea, steeped strong and chilled down. Think dark tea with rosemary, juniper and a bit of orange peel – the bitterness and resinous tones actually mirror some of the same aromas you find in a glass of tannin-rich red wine with game. Serve it cold, ideally with a slice of orange and a sprig of thyme, in a wine glass so it gets the same ceremony as the bottle next to it.

Villbrygg Skog 03 is another example of this direction from the shelf – the retailer describes it as "juicy, balsamic and soft, character of fermented tea, lemongrass and spruce shoots, a hint of ginger". Spruce shoots and lemongrass are exactly the kind of woodsy, slightly bitter notes that go well with game sauce and mushroom stew.

If you want even more complexity, look to fermented botanical drinks with fruit acidity and a touch of the tart-cherry-like. Muri the Four Horsemen from Denmark is described by Vinmonopolet as "juicy and firm, character of tart and ripe cherry, a bit of beetroot, yoghurt, kefir, green pepper and herb". Beetroot and tart cherry is a combination that tends to flatter game dishes no matter where it comes from, and the tart, almost kefir-like edge provides a resistance similar to what a light red wine would give.

What all three have in common is that they don't try to pretend they're wine. They draw their strength from acidity, fermentation and bitterness – the same tools a sommelier uses when choosing a red wine with enough acidity to cut through fat.

You don't need to buy anything to try the principle. A glass of strongly steeped, chilled tea with rosemary and juniper berries – strained, sweetened gently with a little honey and given a splash of apple cider vinegar – already gives you a drink that dares to stand up to the sauce. Serve it in a proper glass, ideally with ice and a slice of orange, so it also gets the visual weight the dish deserves.

Next time the game stew is simmering on the stove and the cream sauce is thickening in the pot, let the non-alcoholic guest have something that actually tastes of autumn – not just sweet and apologetic on the side of the plate.