LO SECCO PROSECCO

Monika Elling has been an athlete her whole life. A former Division I tennis player who has long followed a keto, low-carb lifestyle, she spent more than 20 years in the global wine and spirits business, and through all of it she was underwhelmed by Prosecco. Most of it was too sweet, and she knew it could be better. She wanted a wine that would let her wake up the next morning ready to hit the gym, not weighed down by the sugar in her glass.

She also saw a bigger problem. Our food is compromised, and sugar hides everywhere, including in wine, as both residual sugar and added sugar can be factors during production. Yet wine isn't even required to tell you what's in the bottle. So Elling created the wine she wanted: high quality fruit for starters, zero sugar per serving, and aligned with the way she lives. She made it for herself and for the millions of people who live the same way.

Lo Secco launched in August 2025 as a Prosecco DOC Brut Nature from Italy's Veneto, with zero sugar per serving, standard 11% alcohol, and nutrition facts printed on every bottle. It is keto, low-carb, and GLP-1 aligned, with a stunning flavor profile. In its first year, Lo Secco expanded into 13 states, opened direct-to-consumer shipping to more than 45, and earned 89 points from Wine Enthusiast in a blind tasting, all through word of mouth. Its customers have taken to calling it the "Champagne of Prosecco".

Elling has done this before. She created Empress 1908 Gin and led the go-to-market strategy behind its $200M+ exit, and after years of advising the industry on what to build and how to build it, she is now building for herself. She is certified in Nutrition Psychology, a published author, and a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses alumna. She runs Lo Secco with her daughters as co-founders: Bettina, CSO leads Creative Design and Brand Experience, and Stefanie serves as CTO, overseeing IT and all things digital.

"I didn't set out to make a 'less than' wine," she says. "I set out to make a better one." And we can safely say, mission accomplished.