Tempera

Tempera is a producer of no & low ABV specialty beverages built around recipes created by chef Mauro Colagreco. The idea traces to his restaurant Mirazur in Menton, where guests who did not want wine or alcohol were offered only sparkling or still water. In response, Colagreco began producing pairing drinks on an artisanal scale in the Mirazur kitchens, and each blend was developed there. The concept was tested in small quantities before being adapted for industrial-scale production over nearly a year of work; the development required twelve months of research and development before launch, during which the drinks were tested by Mirazur's sommelier teams.^[1],[2]

The recipes draw inspiration from the gardens surrounding Mirazur and use plants and flowers that grow on the shores of the Mediterranean. The name Tempera derives from the temperate microclimate of Menton, where Mirazur is located. The brand launched in September 2023.^[2]

Mauro Colagreco -- Co-founder and recipe creator. Mauro Colagreco is a three-Michelin-starred chef, originally from Argentina and based on the French Riviera. He was born in La Plata, a university city near Buenos Aires, where he studied economics for four years before turning to gastronomy and training in cooking in Buenos Aires. He moved to France in 2001, working in the kitchens of Bernard Loiseau, Alain Passard at L'Arpège, Alain Ducasse at the Hotel Plaza Athénée, and Guy Martin at Le Grand Véfour. In 2006, at age thirty-one, he opened Mirazur in Menton in a 1930s villa above the Mediterranean, and has lived in Menton since that year. He also operates a Parisian bistro called Grand Cœur, and the producer states he now runs thirty restaurants across twenty destinations.

Arielle Bove -- Co-founder and CEO. Arielle Bove co-founded Tempera with Colagreco and serves as CEO. She partnered with him to bring his no-alcohol drink recipes to market.^[2]

Tempera positions its beverages as gastronomic drinks designed to pair with food, interacting with dishes to highlight textures and reveal the depth of flavors. The producer states its drinks do not use dealcoholization or grapes, instead creating an aromatic experience from other ingredients. Each bottle was designed to carry a complex aromatic bouquet featuring an initial attack note and a base note.^[3],[4]

Colagreco's culinary philosophy is rooted in his Argentine heritage and the local French countryside. He oversees a five-hectare garden near Menton, close to the Italian border, containing about 150 plant species and dozens of tomato varieties, irrigated with mountain spring water and managed biodynamically; the garden directly supplies fruits, vegetables, aromatic herbs, and edible flowers to the Mirazur kitchens. He has directed his own biodynamic garden for years, and reading Masanobu Fukuoka's book "The One-Straw Revolution" led him to develop permaculture and biodynamic gardens.

Tempera describes its beverages as gastronomic alcohol-free drinks and offers them as individual bottles and in tasting sets. The producer's website lists a current lineup of ARIA II, CALDA, RIVA, TIERRA, PYRA, and two sparkling drinks, AUBERA I and AUBERA II. At the time of the October 2023 press coverage the range was framed as six references: two sparkling drinks, one white, one red, one rosé, and one liquoreux (sweet dessert-style) drink; a December 2023 feature named the six aromatic profiles as Eterna I, Eterna II, Riva, Aria, Tierra, and Calda. OLYRA is described as Tempera's first limited edition release.^{[1],[2],[3],[5],[6]}

The still drinks span a range of styles: ARIA II is a zesty, fruity, floral still drink; RIVA is a still land-and-sea drink with a mineral, iodine profile; TIERRA is a plant-based red-style drink described as vegetal, structured, and spicy; PYRA is a still woody drink with intense woody and smoky notes; and CALDA is a warm, sweet, liqueur-like drink built on saffron, vanilla, and burnt caramel. The two sparkling drinks are Eterna I, a dry sparkling drink evoking the shores of the Mediterranean, and Eterna II, a sweet sparkling drink evoking the Normandy countryside.

Tempera builds each recipe as a unique blend of flowers, fruits, plants, and spices intended to give a distinct aromatic profile, and the blends contain no added sugars. The producer does not use dealcoholization or grapes. The still blends are based on infusions and contain 0.0% alcohol because infusion does not generate alcohol; the sparkling blends are fermented rather than dealcoholized.^[7]

Temperature- and time-controlled infusion. For the still blends, each ingredient is infused at its own specific temperature and time. Tempera adjusts the infusion time and temperature of tea for each batch, because its aromatic potential varies with the climate and with the plantation's manufacturing each year. Yerba mate expresses floral notes and a delicate astringency when infused, and its aromatic profile and astringency level change depending on the temperature at which it is infused or macerated.^[8]

Acetic fermentation (sparkling blends). The sparkling blends use an acetic fermentation process — described by the producer as similar to vinegar or kombucha — with specially selected yeasts, which allows bottling without a dealcoholization step. The fermentation yeasts take between 5 and 10 days to transform ingredients, depending on the season, temperature, and oxygen level. This process leaves a residual alcohol level lower than 0.5%, or as low as 0.05%, which the producer compares to craft beers. This applies to the sparkling drinks Eterna I and Eterna II.^[8]

Artisanal fermentation of rock samphire. Rock samphire undergoes artisanal fermentation in Tempera's production, which causes its iodized freshness to evolve toward aromas of smoke, pepper, and cloves.^[8]

Foraged & provenance-driven ingredients. Tempera names specific origins for several ingredients, sourcing saffron from Kashmir, black tea from Assam, seaweed from the Île de Ré, and rock samphire from Brittany. Individual beverages carry further provenance and specialty ingredients.^[8]

• RIVA -- made from tart apples from Perche and seaweed from Ars-en-Ré; contains apple juice (19%), jasmine white tea, wakame and nori seaweed.
• CALDA -- uses tagetes, a rare aromatic plant whose leaves contribute fresh and zesty notes and whose flowers reveal aromas of curry; also built on a saffron-infused caramel; contains honey and marigold leaves.
• PYRA -- built on blueberry juice, blackcurrant and cherry concentrates, black tea and smoked black tea, honey, grape extract, spices, and oak chips.
• ARIA II -- built on strawberry concentrate, grapefruit, lemon, raspberry and wild strawberry juices, white tea (0.8%), and Timut pepper.
• TIERRA -- built on cranberry concentrate, beetroot powder, grape extract, and spices.

Production standards & workshops. Tempera produces its blends in two French workshops, located in Indre-et-Loire and Charente. The blends use thickeners (glycerin, xanthan gum) and an antioxidant (ascorbic acid), and contain no added sugars. Several references, including CALDA, PYRA, TIERRA, and RIVA, are vegan.^[8],[9]

Across the range, Tempera's still blends carry 0.0% alcohol while the sparkling drinks sit below 0.5% (as low as 0.05%). The still drinks span profiles from the zesty, fruity, floral ARIA II — with notes of red berries, white tea infused with lychee, and Timut pepper — to the mineral, iodine, and fruity RIVA with its silky texture and saline finish, the vegetal, structured, spicy and slightly tannic TIERRA, the woody and smoky PYRA with a warm peppery finish and tannins, and the warm, mellow, velvety CALDA of saffron, vanilla, and burnt caramel.

Tempera maintains a food-pairing blog covering dishes including cheese boards, pizza, shrimp and fish noodles, Bò Bún, couscous, meats, crêpes, oysters, foie gras, galette des rois, raclette, fish, asparagus, and summer salads. Serving is often style- and temperature-specific: ARIA II is described as offering a lively, explosive citrus character when served very cold, while PYRA reveals fruity and woody complexity when served slightly chilled, its tannins pairing with meat juices. TIERRA is designed to accompany a meal from starter to dessert.^[10]

Pairing recommendations are given per reference and by season. ARIA II is suggested with Niçoise salad, melon and cured ham, pesto burrata tartines, and Norwegian omelette; RIVA with grilled prawns, sea bream, octopus salad, vanilla lobster, and deviled eggs; TIERRA with ratatouille, tomato mozzarella, roasted suckling pig, and chocolate biscuits; PYRA with charcuterie, cheese, beef empanadas, and eggplant parmigiana; CALDA with dried fruits and nuts, apricot clafoutis, caramel flan, and chicken pie; Eterna I with tuna tartare, clams in green sauce, tzatziki and maritime aperitifs; and Eterna II with sweet potatoes, matured cheeses, sole meunière, smoked ham, and chocolate mousse. CALDA is also used as the base ingredient in a mocktail called Velvet Amber, alongside coffee and saffron.

Colagreco has created pairing recipes for TIERRA, including beef empanadas, braised pork, and chocolate biscuits. He also suggested pairing RIVA with squid fritters for a Mediterranean-inspired aperitif.

Colagreco's Mirazur received its first Michelin star within a year of opening, its second in 2012, and its third in January 2019. With that third star he became the first chef not born in France, and the first Latin American chef, to receive three Michelin stars in the French Guide. Six months after Mirazur received its third star, it was named the best restaurant in the world by The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Colagreco was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador to promote actions in favor of biodiversity, the first time this honor was given to a chef; a 2022 account describes him as the first UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity from the culinary world.