Folk Notes: In Conversation with Vanessa Krogh of Villbrygg

For a long time, if you wanted something with depth and structure in a glass, you more or less ended up with wine. But that assumption has started to loosen when thinking about the non-alcoholic space.

Villbrygg comes from that space of curiosity. From a sense—felt by co-founder Vanesa Krogh after years in the restaurant world—that something was missing. The alternatives available didn’t quite hold up. They didn’t ask for attention in the same way, didn’t carry the same sense of place or intention. At the same time, Cornelia Øiestad was foraging, fermenting, and spending time with plants. What Villbrygg makes comes out of that overlap.

Using Nordic botanicals and fermentation, they’ve built a set of drinks that don’t try especially hard to imitate wine, but also don’t ignore it. There’s structure here, and depth, and aromatic lift—elements that feel familiar. The point isn’t substitution so much as parallel development: something that can occupy a similar place at the table without borrowing too heavily from it.

Here is an extract from our exchange with Vanessa. And some of our recommendations for something else worth pouring at the table.

What drew you to working in botanical beverages?

It started with a feeling that something was off. After years in the restaurant industry, I wanted an alternative to alcohol that didn't feel like a compromise - something with real complexity, depth and story. At the same time, my co-founder Cornelia was deep into foraging and fermentation, and she opened my eyes to the extraordinary flavour universe hiding in Nordic nature. Plants most people call weeds turned out to be tasty ingredients and sustainable resources with untapped potential. A huge drive for us has always been (and still is) the idea that companies can make a positive impact through the value chains they create and the products they produce. We want to make it easier for people to make good choices and to contribute to a world more in harmony with nature.

How does the idea of time and space influence how you approach sourcing or foraging your botanicals?

What do you want people to experience about a place that you have captured in the bottle?

We want each sip to feel like a portal into Nordic nature - a landscape most people have never tasted before. We use ancient knowledge like fermentation and herbalism so you can experience the flavour of the deep forests, lush meadows or mighty mountains. When someone drinks Villbrygg, we want them to feel connected to something real; to soil, season, and place. Not a flavour engineered in a lab, but a flavour that could only come from here, at this time of year.

What do you think people misunderstand about non-alcoholic craft? How are you and/or others in the industry working to change those misconceptions?

What inspires you most as you think about the future of beverages?

The idea that alcohol-free could become the natural starting point and alcohol the conscious choice you make occasionally, rather than the default. We're not there yet, but I believe we're building toward it. What inspires me is that better drinks can actually change behaviour at scale. When something tastes extraordinary and feels culturally exciting, people don't need convincing. That's the future we're building.