Alcohol-free alternatives for wine still need to establish themselves
Published: Thursday, Dec 21st 2023, 13:10
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Wine is a special case in the growing market for non-alcoholic beverages. Despite increasing demand, it is still difficult to find wine alternatives without alcohol that have a convincing taste. Their development is underway, but there are various obstacles.
The first problem for producers arises with the name of their product. "The basic definition of wine from the International Organization of Vine and Wine only covers a beverage that is produced through the complete or partial alcoholic fermentation of grapes," says Hélène Noirjean, Director of the Swiss Wine Association Swiss Wine.
According to the organization, the minimum total alcohol content is at least 7 percent. Alcohol-free wine can therefore not be referred to as "wine", she says. Common terms include "wine-based drink", "de-alcoholized wine" or "alcohol-free wine", whereby such a wine - unlike "wine without alcohol", which may not contain any alcohol at all - may have an alcohol content of a maximum of 0.5 percent.
Wine producers lack capacity for development
Another obstacle is the strong fragmentation of the wine market. Unlike the markets for beer or spirits, for example, the wine market is hardly dominated by large, international groups.
Yet this is precisely what would be beneficial for the development of non-alcoholic wine. "A multinational company has the means to invest sufficiently in research and development to end up with a satisfactory product," says Ettore Müller, Commercial Director of Gialdi Vini in Mendrisio, who has written a dissertation on the subject.
As a result, development is progressing less quickly than is the case with beer, for example. Alcohol-free beer often comes very close to the taste of the original, says Müller. However, its production is also easier because less alcohol has to be extracted from beer than from wine, which is known to have a higher alcohol content.
To reduce the alcohol content, the wine must be distilled at low temperatures. In doing so, it loses a large part of its flavor. "Alcohol is a bit like salt in a dish, so removing alcohol means that the wine becomes bland," explains Müller.
Some flavors are isolated and later added back to the wine. This is why additives are sometimes added to bring the drink closer to the original. Hélène Noirjean from Swiss Wine refers to tests that have shown that the wine alternatives are "not convincing".
Expensive equipment required
Producers also face challenges when it comes to price. Non-alcoholic wine is first produced in the same way as the original and then dealcoholized using expensive equipment. This makes it more expensive to produce than "normal" wine.
However, this is not offset by the sales price: Non-alcoholic wine is usually sold even cheaper than the original, says Müller.
The pressure on Swiss winegrowers to produce alcohol-free wine alternatives is currently still low. To Müller's knowledge, there is still no producer in this country. Doubts about the sales potential of the product, which is not yet sufficiently recognized by "real" wine lovers, are also slowing down investment.
However, demand is increasing. The hotel and restaurant industry in particular wants to satisfy international customers - from the Middle East, for example - with alternatives on the wine list, who are increasingly demanding de-alcoholized wine. Overall, the market will probably be "in five years' time where the beer market was 20 years ago", says Müller.
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