Alcohol-free
Wine below 0.5% alcohol — dealcoholisation, low-alcohol and the regulation that defines the category.
Concept
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0.5% ABV threshold
Legal upper limit for 'alcohol-free wine' in the EU and the US: the finished product must contain no more than 0.5% alcohol by volume.
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Alcohol-free wine
Wine from which the alcohol has been largely removed or which is made to stay below the legal 0.5% ABV threshold, while preserving its wine character.
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Alcohol-free wine vs mocktail
Distinction between alcohol-free wine (from dealcoholised wine with grape DNA) and a mocktail (built from juices, herbs and acids without any vinification).
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Low-alcohol wine
Wine with alcohol content between 0.5% and 8.5% by volume; legally a distinct category between alcohol-free and ordinary wine.
Style
Technique
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Dealcoholisation
Umbrella term for industrial processes that remove alcohol from already-fermented wine; the main techniques are vacuum distillation, spinning-cone columns and reverse osmosis.
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Reverse osmosis
Dealcoholisation method where wine is forced under high pressure through a semi-permeable membrane; water and alcohol pass through, flavour and colour stay behind.
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Spinning-cone column
Dealcoholisation method in which wine flows as a thin film over rotating cones; volatile aromas are captured separately first, then re-blended after alcohol removal.