alcohol-free wine, the underside of a great marketing stunt

The clicking of a corkscrew, fine bubbles wiggling, two stemmed glasses clashing: the scene for the aperitif is set. The drunkenness that usually accompanies it is absent from the sparkling wine that Elsa and Charlotte share when they leave work. In this month of January, after the excesses of the end-of-year celebrations, the two thirty-somethings do not allow themselves a drop of alcohol: Dry January obliges.

The Parisian cellar where they gathered to toast is one of the pioneers in the sale of exclusively non-alcoholic drinks. The model is also spreading to Bordeaux, Toulouse and Lyon. On its shelves, between infusions, teas and detox juices, alcohol-free wine is taking off. “We wanted to see each other, but as we had promised to avoid alcohol in January, here we are,” slips Elsa. Like the two young women, the French are tempted by this new kind of drink.

The non-alcoholic wine market has recorded double-digit growth for several years. “53% of wine consumers say they are interested in its alcohol-free variant,” observes Sébastien Thomas, co-founder of Moderato, one of the market leaders, who highlights the public health issue in a context where alcohol represents the second cause of preventable cancer in France.

But behind its virtuous objectives of moderation, the marketing surrounding alcohol-free wine annoys the land of fermented grapes. Because making “alcohol-free wine” first requires making… alcohol. “We are swimming in the absurd,” sighs Simon, a winegrower in Gironde. “Realize: we deliberately create alcohol, the molecule which fixes the aromatics and gives the identity to the wine, then we remove it. Removing 10 to 15% of a product from its composition denatures it.”

Fermented in France, dealcoholized in Germany

Once their grapes have been harvested and then fermented, winegrowers must remove the alcohol to a threshold of 0.5 degrees. The only way to label “dealcoholized wine” on their bottles, as authorized by the European Union. An industrial epic then begins and two options are available to them: reverse osmosis, a microfiltration process carried out by membranes which separate the alcohol from the rest of the liquid; or distillation, which involves heating the wine so that the alcohol evaporates.

In both cases, these activities are not carried out in France. Every week, streams of trucks and tankers full of wine leave for Germany or Spain. The beverage is de-alcoholized, repackaged and sent back to our country. A manufacturing method whose environmental impact is avoided by the marketing around alcohol-free wine, which nevertheless plays on the local dimension. This additional step, costly for the winemaker, is reflected in the price, which is higher than that of classic wine.

In the world of oenology, the process leaves people skeptical. “By removing the alcohol, we remove the spirit of the wine,” says Jérôme Baudoin, editor-in-chief of The French Wine Review. The vagueness surrounding the composition of this drink also fuels the distrust of its detractors. Alcohol being a natural protector, without it, the wine becomes fragile and does not keep as long. Additions of preservatives, must and especially sugars enhance aromas, create texture and counteract acidity.

A new market for a vineyard in crisis

On the manufacturers’ side, we advocate innovation and originality in response to consumers’ aspirations for moderation. “It’s a new category, an extended family of oenology, in the same way that cognac or port have become,” says Sébastien Thomas, co-founder of Moderato, himself a descendant of a family of winegrowers in Cognac. .

It doesn’t matter if the debate is not settled, marketing has its reasons that oenology ignores. French viticulture is in crisis. Since 2000, the share of adults who say they do not consume alcohol every week has increased from 37% to 61% in 2024. Wine, particularly red, is paying the price: its consumption fell by 32% between 2011 and 2021.

For winegrowers who find themselves with unsold stocks on their hands, dealcoholized wine represents new opportunities. Large retail brands, wine merchants, large restaurants, all are following the trend. But there is still a long way to go, because, as well marketed as it is, this drink only represents 1% of the total volume of wine produced in France. The sector aspires to a destiny similar to that of dealcoholized beer and its 10% market share. Only the years will tell whether the fashion for alcohol-free wine ages well or not.