In these health-conscious times, one segment of the wine market, low and no-alcohol drops, is increasing rapidly.
It’s not as though this is a new idea. I can remember back
in the 1980s, Orlando (best known now under the Jacob’s Creek name) produced a
range of lower-alcohol wines made by de-alcoholising wines using spinning-cone
technology andadding various levels of alcohol back into the blend.
There have been various other attempts over the years to
introduce lower-alcohol drops but it seems to have been only in the past few
years that the market has taken the idea seriously.
Funnily enough, a couple of Australia’s greatest styles have
always featured wines lower in alcohol than many counterparts, particularly red
wines. I’m talking here about Hunter Valley semillon and South Australian rieslings,
which frequently had (and many still do) alcohol levels of only 10 to 12
percent, against many reds (and several whites, particularly chardonnays) featuring
alcohol levels of 14 percent and more.
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| Edenvale's low alcohol range |
It wasn’t too long ago that to be called wine, an Australian drop had to have a minimum 8 percent alcohol. This was only changed because imported wines that followed all the rules of their country of origin could have far lower alcohol levels and still be called wine.
Now, a beverage can have almost no alcohol and be called
wine. Indeed, the accepted definition of a low alcohol wine something with less
than 1 percent alcohol, while drops with less than 10 percent are referred to
as lower-alcohol wines.
There seem to be two approaches to low and lower-alcohol
wines. One sees the grapes taken through to full ferment and that product then
de-alcoholised. The other sees grapes picked earlier at lower potential alcohol
levels and then fermented, making wines with lower alcohol levels than the
equivalent picked a riper sugar levels.
Sadly, one of the problems is that alcohol does contribute body
and richness to wines and taking that out can leave the resultant beverage
tasting thinner and less satisfying. That’s why, for me anyway, white wines
seem better suited to the no and lower-alcohol regime.
Riesling, pinot gris, vermentino and sauvignon blanc seem
better suited to the process but with advancing technologies, the market is
seeing more acceptable roses and red wines.
One way producers can get around that lack of body is by
leaving more residual sugar in the wine, which somewhat negates the idea of
reducing the alcohol level to cut the carbohydrates. The drier (or less sugar) the
better a drop is if you are looking to cut the calories.
Australian labels in the very low alcohol segment include Edenvale, Soul Tracker, McGuigan Zero and Lindemans, who also have a foot in the lower-alcohol segment with their Early Harvest range, featuring wines as the name suggests picked earlier in the vintage to give lower alcohol and calories.
Several New Zealand producers also offer lower-alcohol wines, with one relative newcomer in State of Light having three wines, a Marlborough sauvignon blanc and a pinot gris and rose from Hawke’s Bay. They’re made using spinning cone technology to take out the alcohol while preserving the varietal and regional characters. All sit around the 7 percent alcohol mark and can be found at Dan Murphy’s, BWS and First Choice outlets.
Lovers of big, rich higher-alcohol reds and whites are not
going to be breaking down the doors for them but advancing technology means these
styles are becoming much more approachable and acceptable and are earning their
place in many people’s fridges.
For more background information, go to
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