Columnists
Dry January
Like many plant-based foods that promise the experience of meat but fall short on delivery, some non-alcoholic wines simply miss the point.
Much of what we recognize as “wine” comes from the quiet, essential work of yeast turning sugar into alcohol. Remove that step and what you often end up with is grape juice—pleasant enough, perhaps, but not a convincing substitute for a glass of wine.
That said, things are changing, and quickly. Interest has grown, techniques have improved, and the money is following. So much so that Moët Hennessy–Louis Vuitton (LVMH) recently announced that its non-alcoholic brand, French Bloom, had acquired 25 hectares (62 acres) of vineyard in Limoux, France. It now stands as the only exclusively non-alcoholic wine brand in the world with its own vineyard. When companies of that scale start planting vines, it’s a sign the category is being taken seriously.
And it isn’t just about land. Investment in production is ramping up as well. In June of last year, Treasury Wine Estates—home to brands such as Penfolds, Wynns and Gabbiano— announced plans to open a state-ofthe- art facility in Australia’s Barossa Valley dedicated to low- and no-alcohol wines. This is no longer a niche experiment; it’s becoming a parallel track within the global wine industry.
Europe, as it often does, has moved first on regulation. Recent changes to labelling laws now require de-alcoholised wines with less than 0.05 per cent alcohol to be labelled “alcohol- free,” while wines containing up to 0.5 per cent must be labelled “alcohol-reduced.” Clear rules help both producers and consumers understand what’s actually in the bottle.
In North America, demand is certainly there, but production has been slower to follow. There is also far less support from agricultural ministries to help producers explore non-alcoholic wine as part of broader local economies and tourism—an area where regions like ours might one day have something to say.
So how are these wines actually made? There are three main methods, two of which have been used for decades in warmer regions where winemakers sometimes choose to lower alcohol levels in finished wines. Warmer climates tend to produce riper grapes, higher sugars and, ultimately, higher alcohol wines.
One method uses spinning cone columns, where wine flows over a series of rotating cones that create a thin film. Aromatic compounds are separated and captured, the alcohol is removed, and the aromas are then added back into the wine.
Another approach is reverse osmosis. Here, wine is pushed through a semi-permeable membrane under pressure, separating alcohol and water from flavour compounds. The alcohol is removed, and the remaining components are reassembled.
The method attracting the most attention today is vacuum distillation. Wine is gently heated in a vacuum chamber, lowering alcohol’s boiling point to around 35°C, allowing it to evaporate without cooking the wine. The alcohol vapour is removed, leaving behind a wine that retains more of its original character. Ongoing research aims to lower that temperature even further, protecting the delicate flavours and aromas that define quality wine. The best non-alcoholic wines on the market are increasingly being made this way.
If you’re curious to taste for yourself, specialist retailers are beginning to appear. One such shop, Sobr, focuses exclusively on nonalcoholic beverages, with locations in Toronto and shipping available across Canada.
For those observing Dry January, or simply looking to drink less without opting out entirely, the options are improving. Non-alcoholic wine may never replace the real thing, but it’s finally starting to resemble it— and that, for many, may be enough.
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