Alcohol-free wine on the rise, but how ‘natural’ is it really?

Alcohol-free wine is clearly on the rise. Consumers are opting for 0% alcohol for reasons such as health or fewer calories. But behind this growing trend there is also a discussion: namely, non-alcoholic wine is often much more strongly processed than regular wine.
Text: Ingrid Larmoyeur (The Wine Institute)| Image: Hayffield L via Unsplash

Traditional wine is essentially simple: fermented grape juice. Alcohol-free wine also starts out as ordinary wine, but then there is an extra technological step: the alcohol is removed again. This is done using techniques such as vacuum distillation, reverse osmosis or a spinning cone column.

The process

During such a process, not only alcohol disappears, but often also some of the aromas and flavourings. In the process, certain substances, such as polyphenols, can also be partially lost. These are compounds from the grape that contribute to the flavour, structure and colour of wine, and are often cited in wine research for possible health benefits when consumed in moderation.

To restore the wine's flavour and balance after dealcoholisation, producers sometimes add aromas, grape concentrate or other components.

Ultra-processed

That is precisely where the debate lies. Some experts argue that this makes de-alcoholised wine more like a highly technologically processed product (“ultra-processed”), rather than classic wine, which is simply created by fermenting grapes.

Incidentally, this does not mean that non-alcoholic wine is necessarily less healthy. Wine without alcohol usually contains fewer calories: around 15-30 kcal per 100 ml, compared to around 70-85 kcal for dry wine with alcohol.

Producers are now working on new techniques to better preserve aromas and natural substances. The coming years will show how closely non-alcoholic wine can approach the taste and structure of classic wine.

But it does raise an interesting question: if a drink needs multiple technological steps to remove alcohol and then restore flavour and balance, how natural is it?

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