Press release
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.
Specialized in the development of no-low alcohol products including wine, B&S Tech has set itself the mission of making this new market with high potential known to players in the wine sector.
Indeed, we see a real craze of consumers for no-low products (that is to say light or alcohol-free) but it is still a niche market that raises a lot of questions for producers and traders: how do you make a no-low wine? Won't I devalue my wine by embarking on this type of product? What is the real potential of this market? etc...
It is to answer this question that B&S Tech decided to organize this masterclass in the Bordeaux region by bringing together six distinguished guests who came to share their experience and vision for this market.
To start, Jean-Philippe Braud, creator of the site Gueule de Joie specialized in the sale of alcohol-free drinks, shares with us how this project came to him: "During a Dry January, after 20 years of regular consumption I thought it would be good for me to take a break for a month and it asked the question of what I was going to be able to drink, I started looking for alternatives to accompany the moments of conviviality and I discovered a world of unsuspected quality products". Sébastien Thomas, co-founder of the light and alcohol-free wine range Moderato completes by explaining: "our goal is to expand the wine family, (...) consumption patterns are changing, people want to better control their consumption, we say to ourselves that there is an in-between between everything and nothing. The goal is to be part of the wine family, to expand the field of possibilities. »
The arrival of these new products raises the question of their name. A subject on which the OIV has been strongly interested since the European Commission included in the CAP 2023 the authorization to have the denominations of de-alcoholized or partially de-alcoholized wines. Tatiana Svinartchuk, Head of Unit Economics and Law at the OIV explains: "We had a big boost from the European Commission last year with a clear decision: yes we can make de-alcoholized wine, yes it is a wine, it goes into the products of the vine and wine, yes we can make partially de-alcoholized wine. For the moment no practice other than dealcoholizationis allowed"
After presenting the market, we address the subject of technology and organoleptic challenge of these new products. Stéphane Brière, CEO of B&S Tech, presents the 2 main technologies for de-alcoholizing: vacuum distillation and reverse osmosis.
Removing alcohol from wine leads to an imbalance on the product since alcohol is an important player in the balance of a wine, Gilles de Revel, professor of oenology at the ISVV explains. : « ... there is a technical challenge related to the aromatic loss, in connection with aromatic nuances that could move, there is a technical, technological challenge and so for us analysts, it is to be interested in aromas, aroma losses, all this is interesting. »
Finally, two personalities from Bordeaux share with us why they decided to start producing no-low wines: Coralie de Boüard, owner of Château Clos de Boüard , recently decided to launch an alcohol-free red wine after being solicited several times by people who cannot drink alcohol and are looking for an alternative: "what can we do when a person has health problems, when a woman is pregnant but wants to share a moment of conviviality with her family, around a table, how to share what wine brings together, that is to say conviviality, sharing emotions and a memory around a table"
Always anxious to respect the wine, the result of a quality work of 3 years, she chooses B&S Tech and vacuum distillation for her first experience: "We stay in something natural; we respect the product. The result is quite staggering."
Then Pascal Mondin, technical director of Bordeaux Families , which brings together 300 families of Bordeaux winemakers, explains why they decided to equip themselves with a dealcoholization unit.
"We realized that we needed a big diversification to continue to support our members (...) and, 5 years ago, I went to Chile, and in the big units there, every time I went into a unit, I saw a distillation column, and I said to myself, there is something going on.” The company continues to work on the subject and embarks on the adventure of dealcoholization by seeing on the one hand its main competitor, beer succeed on the non-alcoholic successfully and on the other hand, the decision of the OIV to authorize the denomination dealcoholized wine: "there we said, we must go"
All testify that the dealcoholization of wine is a challenge, a big stake and this is what makes the subject even more interesting!
The session ends with a tasting of light and alcohol-free wines in order to make concrete all the topics discussed before and to exchange between guests and the audience.
A great event that made it possible to lift the a priori and shed light on this new market which is a new outlet full of potential for the wine sector!
Moreover, the press is already talking about it:
https://www.sudouest.fr/gironde/gironde-b-s-tech-a-l-assaut-du-vin-sans-alcool-11364363.amp.html
https://www.vitisphere.com/actualite-97031-285950497ffcedee83e39222ca454734.html
