A Different Kind of Saturday Night...

Sunday Sharing.

Last night, I found myself somewhere I wouldn’t have expected a few years ago.

Not a bar.

Not a restaurant.

Not a party.

I was at a wellness sauna and cold plunge — on a Saturday night — surrounded by dozens of people.

The timing felt significant.

After a busy week in the UK for Vino Zero, I’ve been back in Canada this week (where I live, mostly) and straight back into work mode. I travelled to Victoria, BC for sales meetings and tasting events with local businesses focused on non-alcoholic drinks. Long days of conversation, travel, pouring, listening. The good kind of busy — but busy nonetheless.

Earlier that same day, I was hosting an in-store tasting at FIZZ Bottle Shop, a brilliant independent retailer dedicated to high-quality non-alcoholic bottles. I spent the day with the owner, Jamie, whose passion for flavour, hospitality, and inclusivity is immediately obvious — and who also made me what might genuinely be the best “mood-elevating”margarita I’ve ever tasted. Alcohol-free, but complex, balanced, and deeply satisfying.

Throughout the afternoon, a steady stream of customers came through the door. All ages. All walks of life. People picking up non-alcoholic wine and drinks for dinner parties, quiet nights in, social gatherings, gifts for friends, or simply because that’s what suited their weekend. No explanations required. Just thoughtful, intentional choices about what they wanted to drink — and why.

The day before, I also did something very familiar: I chose a couple of bottles of traditional (alcoholic) wine for myself, recommended by a knowledgeable team member at a local liquor store we’ll soon be supplying with non-alcoholic products. They'll go straight into my collection — not to be opened immediately, but saved for the right food, the right people, the right moment.

I’m a sommelier, after all, and I love great quality wine in all its forms. What matters most to me is how well a wine is made, the story behind it, and how well it fits the moment.

Even with that perspective, there are periods when I choose complete sobriety.

I’ve long enjoyed Sober October, and this year I decided to do Dry January again — which is another reason those bottles will remain unopened for a while. Not out of restriction, but more about intention, when the moment is right for me.

But what struck me, on reflection, was how similar my decisions were to what I’d seen earlier that day at FIZZ. Whether it was customers tasting and choosing alcohol-free wine for their weekend, or me choosing traditional wine to enjoy later, it was the same instinct at work: prioritising quality, context, and choice over habit. Different bottles, different timelines — but in many ways, the same mindset.

A few hours later, my Saturday evening took a very different — and unexpectedly social — turn.

The wellness sauna and cold plunge I visited in Victoria this Saturday night was AERTH — a beautifully designed space that manages to feel calm, social, and genuinely welcoming all at once. Victoria is also home to HAVN, an incredible floating sauna boat experience that’s well worth checking out. Both offer a glimpse into how wellness, community, and social connection can coexist — even on a Saturday night.

The sauna was full.

People of all ages, with a noticeable number in their twenties and thirties. Friends, couples, solo visitors (like me). Laughter, easy conversation, quiet moments. Phones were absent. And all of us were sober.

This wasn’t framed as a detox, a recovery space, or a 'substitute' for nightlife.

It certainly wasn’t about abstinence or self-denial. It was simply a room full of people choosing to spend their Saturday night focused on feeling good — connecting, being present, and looking after themselves.

Between rounds of heat and cold, people talked — properly talked. About work, life, stress, plans, relationships. No shouting over music (although one of the saunas - the 'social sauna' - was lit up with groovy lighting and funky disco music, which was a full vibe). No queues at the bar. No one watching the clock waiting for the night to “start.” The night had already arrived — quietly, without needing to be fuelled.

This sense of community & connection wasn’t entirely new to me. Fiona, my best friend and business partner, goes to a local sauna and cold plunge in Frome regularly throughout the week (Wild Cat Sauna - check it out!).

It’s something she’s built into her routine — a way to reconnect with herself and with the people around her. I’ve been with her before, of course, and I enjoy the occasional sauna and cold plunge myself.

But this was a little different...

For me, spending a Saturday evening at a sauna — as my main weekend activity — was new territory. And yet, there I was, wrapped in a towel, moving between heat and ice, chatting with strangers — and genuinely loving it.

What surprised me most, I guess,, was how many others were doing exactly the same thing this Saturday. This wasn’t niche. This wasn’t a quiet, secret corner of the city. The place was buzzing — just not in the way often associated with Saturday nights!

What makes this feel even more encouraging is that it’s not entirely new. In Nordic countries, sauna culture has been part of daily and weekly life for centuries — a space for social connection, reflection, and wellbeing that exists entirely outside of alcohol. Seeing that mindset begin to take root in the UK and Canada feels less like a trend and more like a cultural rebalancing. Very cool to see!

Taken together — the store-tasting during the day and the sauna that evening — it felt like two sides of the same shift.

Not anti-alcohol.

Not anti-social.

Not preachy.

Just more intentional. More inclusive. More varied.

A broader re-imagining of what enjoyment, connection, and social life can (and does) look like.

And this morning, for me, the effect of those choices was quietly obvious.

I woke up naturally at 6am on Sunday — no alarm, just fully rested and clear-headed. There's a calm, settled energy to my morning (the kind that makes you want to sit down and write while everything is still quiet!).

This post came together easily, inspired by how present the night before had felt.

Before the rest of the city starts to stir, I'm going to head out alone for a crisp winter morning walk. Cold air, empty streets, fresh coffee and space to think.

It felels less like a contrast to the evening I had, and more like a continuation of it — the same sense of intention carrying through.

So my final thought on this sunny Sunday morning?

Well, I loved my mindful Saturday night vibe. None of it felt like restraint or trade-off. Just a reminder, I guess, that when we choose experiences that genuinely nourish us, the benefits tend to show up in subtle but meaningful ways — in how we feel, how we think, and how we move into the day.

Even if it does still involve voluntarily stepping into freezing water for fun!

Fancy a taste of Nordic wellness?

Why not try our FAVOURITE post-sauna tipple...

Franka Nordic Aperitif