As global wine consumption continues to decline, we’re seeing a change in attitude from traditional winegrowing regions. According to IWSR, continental European markets have seen declines for decades, while UK volumes peaked in 2009, Australia in 2012 and the US in 2017. The world is drinking less still wine. Competition from premium beer and spirits is one factor, but the moderation of younger consumers is the lead culprit. It’s cool to be seen to be healthy.
When it comes to making non-alcoholic alternatives, the beer industry was the earlier adapter. No/low beer has been around for decades which is why both its quality and sales are leaving the wine equivalent behind, but there’s a portion of the trade investing to catch up.
It was announced at the beginning of the year that Familia Torres plans to invest €6m over the next two years in a new winery dedicated to non-alcoholic wines. Based at the company’s HQ in Penedès, Catalonia, the new winery comes more than 20 years after Familia Torres began researching non-alcoholic wines in 2004. The Spanish producer, which has topped The World’s Most Admired Wines list seven times, launched its first non-alcoholic expression in 2008 and today it has a range of still wines including a Chardonnay, Muscat and Grenacha.
The creation of non-alcoholic wine follows basically the same routine as making regular wine, but with the extra step of extracting the alcohol. The three prominent techniques are vacuum distillation, the ‘spinning cone’ technique and reverse osmosis, although lots of other science-y methods are being trialled, such as pervaporation, cross-flow filtration, electrodialysis and micro-oxygenation.
Familia Torres uses the spinning cone method which, in a report by Worldofnix.com, is described as: “An alcohol removal system using spinning cone-shaped columns. These rotating conical columns are used in a form of low temperature vacuum distillation. In this way, the alcohol is gently removed from the wine, while the taste of the wine is preserved.”
Montse Rosell, who is responsible for the production of non-alcoholic wines at Familia Torres, spoke with Drinks International at Barcelona Wine Week in February. “We have our own technology which allows us to create balance at every stage of production, which I think is important.
“Our sales have increased to the point that we needed a separate facility to the regular wines. It’s easy to contaminate non-alcoholic wines during the fermentation process, so having our own space is really great.”
Speaking to a variety of producers at the show, non-alcoholic wine had some haters. The major argument condemning the movement is that much of the terroir is lost when stripping alcohol.
“Obviously when you remove the alcohol from the wine the mouthfeel and sensation is different,” adds Rosell. “But we’re working with expensive grape varieties such as Muscat because we want to drive the standards of the category.
“When you remove alcohol from wine you also lose a lot of water, in fact about 20% of the volume is lost in the process. This concentrates the wine, which is why we use bolder grape varieties such as Muscat or Garnacha. We’ve also done lots with Cabernet Sauvignon although the fresh and delicate notes can get lost in the concentrated wine, but perhaps as we continue to evolve the vinification anything is possible.”
Use and labelling
In 2021 the EU outlined some regulations surrounding the use and labelling of non-alcoholic wine which, although starting 20 years behind the likes of beer, does highlight acknowledgement of the category’s potential. On the surface this provides an overall structure for traditional European wine markets to enter the non-alcoholic category, but it’s broad. Sure, it gives consumers confidence in the fact the wine doesn’t contain alcohol, but that’s about it. There’s no regulation to say where the wine comes from, its age or style. However, this level of detail and wine vocabulary would require the intervention of a denominación de origen.
Rosell says: “It’s a reality that the wine industry is changing, but I don’t think we’re ready for non-alcoholic wines to be included in DOs because the quality isn’t there across multiple producers. But maybe in another five years or so we could do.”
Diego Pinilla, chief winemaking & operations officer at Raventós Codorníu, agrees: “I don’t think non-alcoholic wines should be included in DOs. Perhaps they should be allowed to say ‘a non-alcoholic wine from Rioja’, for example, but I don’t think it’s appropriate just yet.”
By definition, it’s the job of a DO to protect the reputation of its respected wine region, but there’s a growing concern that stubbornness could hinder growth.
Jorge Bombín, head winemaker at Ribera del Duero brand Legaris, adds: “Many of the Spanish DOs are very old fashioned and slow moving, they’re resistant to change. But it’s no secret that the wine world is changing so I’m open to anything because we need to stay relevant, I’d like to see non-alcoholic Ribera Del Duero wines for sure.”
Most wine producers aren’t opposed to the development of non-alcoholic wine, they just don’t think the category is ready to be aligned with traditional DOs. However, as Pinilla mentions, using familiar wine jargon and allowing the use of recognised regions may help the category and its consumers.
“On our wines we put the grape variety and the vintage, but this isn’t usual practice for non-alcoholic wines,” Rosell adds. “There are other wineries which take a collection of different wines to make their non-alcoholic range, it’s seen as additional income. But for us we specifically identify which grapes we want to use from the beginning.
“We aren’t trying to replicate particular styles or regions, but focus on the grape varieties themselves. I think it would be difficult to replicate a Ribera Del Duero, but some years ago we experimented with Verdejo, which was easy to identify.
“I think over the next few years we need to create a structure for non-alcoholic wines because there are some producers worried about the future of it without.”
It appears that the majority of European winemakers want non-alcoholic wine to develop, as does the EU. While it still lags behind the success of low/no beer production, the quality is improving and in the coming years brands will want to talk terroir, grape varieties and the origins of their wine.
This will inevitably cause friction between the hundreds of DOs which are rooted in tradition.
