The phenomenon of NO/LOW (alcohol-free) wines is not just a flash in the pan. But to know how far it will go, we first need to know where it comes from. Will it change everything for vineyards and consumers? Perhaps.
With its caffeine removed, is coffee still coffee? Is skimmed or lactose-free milk still milk? While consumers accept these practices, what about NO/LOW wines that has had some of its alcohol removed? Is it still wine? And can we still call this drink, whose alcohol content has been reduced or eliminated, “wine”?
This dealcoholised wine has become a topic of discussion in the wine world, which is questioning the technical, economic and lexical relevance of this drink. Brewers and their customers settled this question long ago. After some unconvincing attempts a century ago, the modern era has seen the arrival and development of non-alcoholic beers. People now unanimously recognise these everyday beers as beers. Admittedly, they represent only a tiny proportion of the global market in this category, but this equates to colossal volumes. This is enough to give winemakers ideas, given the current situation of French vineyards.
The law of the weakest
The legislator has recently established two distinct categories: de-alcoholised wines and partially de-alcoholised wines. NO/LOW wines. Two categories? As we shall see, it is not that simple. It is already legally possible to correct the alcohol content of a wine. This correction must not exceed 20% of the original alcohol content and does not have to be indicated on the label. In addition, the wine’s alcohol content obtained must be at least 9%. The alcohol content of a partially dealcoholised wine must be greater than 0.5% without exceeding the minimum required by its appellation decree (e.g. 10.5% for a Bordeaux Supérieur, or 11.5% for a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru). Please note that an AOP- or IGP-recognised wine can retain its appellation if it only undergoes partial dealcoholisation.’. This process must also be specified in the appellation’s specifications.
A dealcoholised wine is necessarily a wine without geographical indication (VSIG), whose alcohol content cannot exceed 0.5%. Three methods of dealcoholisation are permitted and may be used alone or in combination: distillation; partial vacuum evaporation, in particular using the currently popular rotating cone columns; the use of membrane techniques, such as reverse osmosis, which is also used for other oenological applications. When applied to musts, it removes water and thus increases the final alcohol content.
Not new but innovative
Producers can therefore create very different NO/LOW de-alcoholised wines, ranging from alcoholic wines with reduced alcohol content to wines from which they have almost completely removed the alcohol. In both cases, the regulations specify that producers obtain these wines ‘exclusively by the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether crushed or not, or grape must’.
The marketing strategy of certain brands does nothing to help people understand the issue. For example, the Petit Béret brand offers drinks that contain no wine and do not derive from it. In fact, producers make them from unfermented grape juice and supplement them with certain additives (flavourings) that the oenological code does not authorise. In this booming market, there are also wine-based flavoured drinks (BABV) whose marketing may appear similar to that of wine. They must contain at least 50% wine, which may have been dealcoholised. They are produced using additives and methods that prevent them from being classified as wines.
The most famous BABV is probably sangria. Dealcoholised wines already have a long history behind them. Around fifty years ago, Henri Margulis, an academic from Toulouse, was already working on developing an NO/LOW alcohol-free wine. One must acknowledge that the venture did not achieve commercial success. The phenomenon is therefore not new. Over the last twenty years, wine lovers have probably already heard of partially dealcoholised wines, such as those offered by the Colombette estate, located near Béziers. There the Pugibet family has acquired real expertise in reducing the alcohol content of some of its wines.
Good taste and preconceived ideas
Since 2005, by choosing the right grape variety, cultivation method and vinification process, the Pugibets have succeeded in producing wines with an alcohol content of 11.5% and, very quickly, 9%. The initial idea was to return to the taste of wines drunk at the beginning of the previous century, i.e. wines with a moderate alcohol content, which ‘gain in finesse, drinkability and elegance’ when they lose one or two degrees, ‘so that you can drink more and more easily’.
Beyond the rather cool reception given by certain (self-proclaimed) guardians of the temple to this range, christened Plume, the commercial development of the brand has given rise to a few surprises. An undeniable and lasting success, the product has not won over the younger generations. ‘It is mainly older people who drink it, who are used to accompanying their meals with easy-drinking wines that make them feel good’. However, the idea was a good one, as recent Italian research, presented by Maria Tiziana Lisanti at OEnomacrowine 2023, shows that a 20% reduction in the alcohol content of a high-alcohol red wine improves the consumer’s perception of its quality, for both amateurs and professionals. Despite an analytically observed loss of aroma (mainly fruity esters), partially dealcoholised wine is preferred to the original wine.
All that for this?
Since we are talking about wine, we must also consider the viticulture and winemaking processes that precede this reduction in alcohol content. This raises a simple question: what is the point of seeking grape maturity (at least in terms of alcohol content) only to then remove the alcohol obtained? Appropriate vine management and the choice of harvest date can reduce the alcohol content by one or two degrees without compromising the quality of the wine. Similarly, the use of certain strains of oenological yeasts (both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lachancea thermotolerans) can increase the alcohol content by an additional degree or two.
Again, winemakers can do this without compromising the balance or sensory quality of the wine. Although significant, these results still fail to meet the current trend for dealcoholised wines, whose alcohol content have reduced to below 0.5%. Over the last ten years or so, demand has grown, particularly in Norway, the United States and the Netherlands. Young consumers also seem to be the most attracted to these products. According to a Sowine/Synat study (2022), 44% of consumers of no-low drinks, i.e. alcohol-free or low-alcohol drinks, are between 18 and 25 years old.
Three methods of dealcoholisation to produce are permitted and may be used alone or in combination: distillation; partial vacuum evaporation; and membrane techniques such as reverse osmosis.
Meeting demand
The term ‘alcohol-free’ is obviously more understandable (and more radical) than ‘low-alcohol’. The subject is divisive and the market highly segmented. In a notable development, producers aim these products at ‘flexible drinkers’ who may drink both wine and alcohol-free wine during the same evening. In fact, the International Wine & Spirit Record (IWSR) indicates that 78% of consumers of alcoholic beverages also consume non-alcoholic beverages. To meet this growing demand, the Pugibets opted for a combination of two methods: osmosis and vacuum distillation. Vincent Pugibet says, ‘If someone had told me that we would make alcohol-free wine and enjoy it so much, I would have been surprised.’
For his part, after sixty trials, first on small volumes of NO/LOW wines and then on a larger scale, Laurent David at Château Edmus in Saint-Émilion opted for vacuum distillation. ‘We have 32 shareholders, aged 28 to 65, who love wine. At an end-of-year meal, a young woman said to me: “I don’t drink wine because I’m pregnant. You should make a great alcohol-free wine.”’ According to him, his partners’ reactions mirrored the current debate. ‘Absolutely, we have to do it!’ said the young people, while the older ones thought it would no longer be wine. ”
Getting used to change
‘The first glass is unsettling. There’s a vinous sensation. But since there’s no longer any alcohol, that strong molecule that warms you up and makes it last, an essential compound is missing,’ notes Laurent David. Like others, Vincent Pugibet and he agree that removing alcohol from wine poses problems. Notably in terms of preservation, but also in terms of the need to rely on a ‘backbone’ to replace the structure and warmth provided by alcohol. On this point, technical solutions for NO/LOW wines are possible, particularly for red wines. Most often, one adds sugar. Others, faithful to the oenological codex, will also use gum arabic or even tannins.
At Château Edmus, restoring this structure involves adding grape must, which raises the sugar content to twelve grams per litre. This sugar content can be much higher for other producers. As for the product’s preservation capabilities, Château Edmus achieves this by passing the drink through a pasteurisation tunnel, followed by the addition of DMDC. Dimethyl dicarbonate is a food additive (E242) used to preserve beverages due to its antimicrobial properties. Laurent David’s teams reuse the wine alcohol obtained after dealcoholisation to produce a local and exclusive gin. It should be noted that, in accordance with the regulations mentioned above, even though this dealcoholised wine is made from a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru appellation wine, it is legally classified as a Vin de France. Moreover, it cannot claim the organic certification obtained by the estate.
Shaping the future
Convinced of the importance of approaching the category of NO/LOW alcohol-free wines as a winegrower, Laurent David has even acquired a plot of young Merlot vines specifically for this production. He explains: ‘Alcohol-free wine is a way of letting everyone taste the fruits of our labour as winegrowers.’ He adds: ‘We mustn’t be dogmatic and must continue to work.’ Vincent Pugibet shares this view. The alcohol-free market allows for several approaches, without dogma and without pretending that it will cannibalise wines or absorb surpluses.
Whether commercial, agronomic or oenological, which are necessary to establish the product in the long term. It is perhaps in this respect that it can become an example, or even a model, for the market for wines ‘with’ alcohol
