The popularity of alcohol-free beers and wines is driving European manufacturers to equip themselves with alcohol-removal technologies. 

But what are these technologies? 

    In order to dealcoholise an alcohol (wine, beer or spirits), 3 techniques are available and effective. Let's have a look today at the rotating cone column:

    On Wednesday, June 22sd was held at the Bernard Magrez- Start-up Win incubator the 1st masterclass on no-low alcohol in wine, organized by the start-up B&S Tech. 

    There are several negative preconceived ideas about the reduction of alcohol applied to finished alcoholic products. Here is a small overview of these stereotypes...

    "Wines are getting stronger". We often hear this sentence which announces that the alcohol level in the wines we drink, especially reds, is getting higher and higher. But is this true, and if so, how can we get back to a more acceptable alcohol level?

    Last year, in order to meet Brexit obligations, London-based wine trading company Liv-ex recorded the alcohol content of over 35,000 wines with a label check on over 20,000 of these wines. The wines were then classified by decade from 1990 to 2020.

The results are alarming: while in California, Burgundy and Italy, alcohol levels are relatively stable (but remain high: 14.6% for California), in Bordeaux, the wines are increasingly powerful. In fact, in the space of 30 years, the alcohol content of Bordeaux wines recorded by Liv-ex has risen from 12.8% to 13.8% on average.

Justin Gibbs, co-founder of Liv-ex comments: "This is a remarkable insight into the significant changes taking place in some of the world's most important fine wine regions”.

    In other French regions, not studied by Liv-ex, this is a real issue: in Côtes-du-Rhône, for example, grapes from the Syrah variety have to be harvested at a high technological maturity, which inevitably leads to an increase in the sugar content of the grapes and therefore a very high alcohol content. This is the same situation for the wines of the South of France, particularly in the Languedoc. And with global warming, this trend does not seem to be abating.

    On the other hand, the French are increasingly fond of lighter, more digestible and therefore less alcoholic wines. This is the observation made by François Lurton, a Bordeaux wine grower from father to son since 1897, who recently launched his first "pet nat": a very low alcohol sparkling wine (around 10%). In another region, it is Tariquet who markets its "Imprévu" and its 9,5%. In the same vein, Moderato and its 5% committed wines are increasingly popular.

    In order to respond to consumer demands and to alleviate the problems caused by global warming, it is now increasingly necessary to reduce the alcohol content of wines. Among the existing solutions, the simplest and most effective is dealcoholisation. Many qualitative techniques exist and are already used to reduce the alcohol content of wines by a few degrees.

As an expert in alcohol reduction techniques, B&S Tech accompanies producers in these steps in order to offer them the dealcoholisation technologies adapted to their needs.

http://dealcoholization.zohosites.com/

    Faced with the growth of the no-low market, producers are organising themselves to develop quality products that meet consumer demands.

    "When I became an oenologist, I never thought I would develop a product without alcohol! Today, technology allows us to do very interesting things. Consumers want to enjoy themselves in a different way," says Beppe Musso, master blender and production manager at Bacardi.

Dealcoholisation technologies make it possible to work with the original product, which has developed all its qualities during the alcoholic fermentation of wine or the brewing of beer, both from the terroir and from the producers' know-how. This is why many prefer to use dealcoholisation, like Bacardi for its new Aperitivo Alcohol Free Martini. "In the mouth, a connoisseur will inevitably feel the lack of alcohol, but the wine remains very present" explains Ivano Tonutti, master herbalist of the Bacardi-Martini group, to the magazine Business & Market. This new Martini is the result of dealcoholisation using a technology widely used in wine, vacuum distillation, which allows the alcohol to be separated from the original product while preserving as much of its original qualities as possible.

Light products are also benefiting from these technologies. For example, the start-up Moderato has developed a light wine (5%) based on another dealcoholisation technology, reverse osmosis. This new type of wine, lighter and more committed, is already attracting many consumers.

    The same is true for brewers. Dealcoholisation technologies are used by the biggest brewers such as Heineken and ABinBev, which, following the success of its Leffe blonde 0.0%, has announced the release of its Leffe Rubby 0.0% version. They are also attracting microbreweries, such as the Quebec brewery BlockAle. "The three-step process preserves the flavour profile of the beer while eliminating the alcohol" says Michael Jean, general manager and founder of the microbrewery.

    The popularity of these technologies requires special expertise. As an expert in dealcoholisation, B&S Tech assists players in the various sectors in their projects for light and alcohol-free products by advising them on the choice of the best technologies for their products. 

http://dealcoholization.zohosites.com/

    As we announced two weeks ago, reflections on the regulation of dealcoholised wines were underway in the scope of the new CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). It is now official, Europe should allow dealcoholised wines to maintain their PDO and PGI.

    "A new category of 'dealcoholised wine' has been created," announced Daniela Ida Zandonà, advisor to the European Federation of Origin Wines (EFOW). Under the upcoming reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), scheduled for 1 January 2023, geographical indications and protected designations of origin will be allowed to produce wines with a low alcohol content of less than 8.5% alcohol.

This means that wines without geographical indications (VSIG) will be allowed to go below 0.5% alcohol, while wines with protected geographical indications (IGP) and protected designations of origin (AOP) will be allowed to de-alcoholise to between 0.5% and 8.5% alcohol.

Zandona explains that it will be up to each appellation to decide whether to adopt these changes. While it is likely that the more prestigious appellations will retain their current regulations, the younger and more innovative appellations will probably be the first to take the plunge.

    The European Union has taken this decision "in view of the ever-increasing consumer demand for innovative vineyard products with an actual alcoholic strength below the set minimum".

    While there will be no changes to the regulation of appellations until the new CAP reform is in place on 1 January 2023, Zandonà is confident that "Member States will not reopen negotiations on issues such as these, on which they have already agreed".

    It remains to be seen which appellation will be the first to accept de-alcoholised wines?

http://dealcoholization.zohosites.com/

    Hard seltzers are drinks that appeared a few years ago in the United States. They consist of sparkling water with a light alcohol content of around 6-7° and flavoured with fruit, often grapefruit or blackberry. Packaged in cans, these light and fresh drinks compete directly with beers, especially on the beaches in summer. They are a real success on the other side of the Atlantic: nowadays, one American in two consumes hard seltzers. The American market, which weighed 3 billion euros in 2019, grew by 43% in 2020.

    In the course of these successful new products, the first "wine seltzers" appeared. In contrast to the classic hard seltzers where the alcohol comes from the fermentation of added sugar, wine seltzers use low-alcohol, dealcoholised, often rosé or sparkling wine, and flavoured wine. Wine seltzers are taking more and more place in this boiling market: brands such as Bloom, Movo or Babe are making their appearance. In Australia and New Zealand, manufacturers are also taking a strong interest in this new trend. The Barefoot brand and the Villa Maria brand launched their wine seltzer in Australia and New Zealand respectively in 2020. The British research firm, Wine Intelligence, believes that wine producers will very soon "ride the wave of wine seltzers".

    Faced with this new trend, French players are preparing themselves. Hard seltzers have already made a first appearance in the territory during the summer of 2020, and many wine players have clearly understood the market opportunity that wine seltzers represent over the next few years. Rosé wines from the south of France have already started to market the first wine seltzers, notably the Pampelonne brand and also Café de Paris, which should launch its first wine seltzer very soon. The profile of these new drinks fully corresponds to the new consumer trends. Convenient to carry and more modern, the can also has a carbon footprint 80% lower than that of a glass bottle. Moreover, wine seltzers follow the trends of less alcoholic drinks but are also much less caloric: a 250mL can represents about 100 calories compared to double for the same quantity of wine. 

http://dealcoholization.zohosites.com/

The popularity of alcohol-free beers and wines is driving European manufacturers to equip themselves with alcohol-removal technologies. 

But what are these technologies? 

In order to dealcoholise an alcohol (wine, beer or spirits), 3 techniques are available and effective. Let's have a look today at the reverse osmosis:

This is a physical process to separate alcohol from other residues through the use of membranes. A mixture of water and alcohol (and a few other molecules such as potassium or organic acids) is extracted by applying a pressure greater than the osmotic pressure of the wine: this is the permeate. It is then a question of eliminating the alcohol from this permeate in order to reintegrate it into the wine already treated and thus limit losses. There are two ways of doing this: using a membrane contactor (removing the alcohol by osmosis using micro-filtration) or by distillation (removing the alcohol by evaporation). The first makes it possible to extract an alcohol content of 10% and the second around 85%.

This is the cheapest technology for reducing the alcohol content of a product by a few degrees and is the least bulky. As a result, it is the means most used by French winegrowers to reduce the alcohol content of wines that are too concentrated in alcohol, especially in very hot and dry years. On the other hand, it is a water-intensive technology, not very suitable for total dealcoholisation and does not allow the initial aromas to be separated and then reincorporated. 

If you are interested in dealcoholisation technologies, do not hesitate to find out more directly on our site, under the heading "dealcoholisation technologies" or to contact us. 

    The popularity of alcohol-free beers and wines is driving European manufacturers to equip themselves with alcohol-removal technologies. 

But what are these technologies? 

    In order to dealcoholise an alcohol (wine, beer or spirits), 3 techniques are available and effective. Let's have a look today at the rotating cone column:

The year 2020 is a year to be remembered in all sectors. 

In this unprecedented crisis, the wine industry is not exempt from it. 

After a post-confinement period and a very promising summer for the French wine trade, the autumn period is full of uncertainties. 

Questioned by Vitisphere, Eric Lanxade, commercial director of the Caves et Vignobles du Gers (CVG), admits difficulties with the current situation but doesn’t wish to give up. 

As we know, crises are often an opportunity for businesses to reinvent themselves in order to win back consumers and meet their new expectations. 

In this context of crisis, it is important for producers and interprofessions to find alternatives and solutions able to adapt to the taste of the consumer. Concerning the possible solutions, Mr Lanxade already has an idea: "Innovation means stretching the range to be present in all sectors that perform well: (...) such as non-alcoholic wines, sauvignon low degrees. "

In addition, another wine-producing region is likely to be interested in these innovations: in fact, the harvest has started in the Bordeaux region and the effects of the climate are being noticed more and more. 

The Revue des Vins de France was given the opportunity to question the manager of Château Giscours, who is delighted with a quality vintage,  "The tannins are soft and should be pleasant to drink." . But this summer's drought is causing the grapes to change, giving them a much higher alcohol content. 

The strong heats create wines that are heavier and heavier in alcohol, an adjustment of this alcohol level could be more and more considered in order to correspond to the taste of consumers who prefer lighter wines. 

Confronted with the evolution of consumer tastes and the increasingly present climatic effects, it’s necessary for the sector to take an interest in alcohol reduction or suppression technologies.