Non-alcoholic wines and sparkling wines

Although they are one of the smallest segments in the wine industry, the demand for dealcoholised wines is growing.

Facts

  • < 1%

    Market share

  • 15%

    Awareness

  • < 0.5 % vol.

    Alcohol

The range of dealcoholised wines and sparkling wines from wineries, winegrowers' cooperatives and commercial wineries has increased significantly in recent years. The taste of dealcoholised wines has also developed positively.

Number of producers on the rise
A search for wine producers who offer alcohol-free wines, sparkling wines or secco now returns over 60 results (2022).Low level of awareness
Following the trend towards dealcoholised wines and sparkling wines, the market research institute Nielsen conducted a consumer survey on the consumption of dealcoholised wines and sparkling wines in spring 2020. 16,883 respondents from the Nielsen household panel were comparatively unaware that there is also wine without alcohol. Only 15 per cent of respondents were aware of non-alcoholic white wine, twelve per cent of the red and nine per cent of the rose-coloured alternative. Of these groups of people, around a quarter had already drunk the specified non-alcoholic type of wine. The level of awareness of non-alcoholic sparkling wines was significantly higher at 53 per cent. Almost two thirds of people who were familiar with non-alcoholic sparkling wines had already consumed them.Making alcohol-free wines
In order to produce alcohol-free wines, a wine must first be produced from which the alcohol is then removed. This is done by means of vacuum distillation.At a lower pressure, the boiling temperature of the liquid to be separated is reduced to up to 30 degrees so that the alcohol can be gently removed.

Alcohol-free wine therefore undergoes the same development stages as normal wine and still contains many of the original flavourings after alcohol reduction, but only has an alcohol content of 0.5% or less.

How do non-alcoholic wines taste?
According to the Nielsen study, some respondents stated that they were very reserved when it came to non-alcoholic wines, even though they had never consumed the products before. This may well be justified in view of the early production of alcohol-free products. Non-alcoholic wines were produced by removing the alcohol from the wine at elevated temperatures, as a result of which the wine lost a large part of its aromatic diversity. In recent years, non-alcoholic wines have developed significantly in terms of flavour thanks to the new production process. Bouquet varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc or Gewürztraminer are often used as base wines. This gives the end product an intense fruity flavour, which goes some way to compensating for the lack of alcohol. For sparkling wines, carbonic acid is used to compensate for the flavour.

Why more and more consumers are having to give up alcohol
Conscious enjoyment and a balanced lifestyle are much more important today than in the past. The fact that non-alcoholic wines often contain significantly fewer calories also plays an important role in the popularity of non-alcoholic products. So if you want to consciously avoid alcohol, alcohol-free wines and sparkling wines are a good alternative.

Good to know
According to European food law, sparkling wine, wine or beer containing a maximum of 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume (% vol.) may be declared as "alcohol-free". The amount of this percentage of so-called residual alcohol varies from drink to drink.

Podcasts: Non-alcoholic wines and sparkling wines

The DWI podcasts "Alkoholfrei" (Episode 69), Alkoholfeier Wein" (Episode 46) and "Alkoholfreier Schaumwein" (Episode 30) are available on the production of alcohol-free wine products.

What is the market share of dealcoholised sparkling wine ?

The market share of dealcoholised sparkling wine is 5%.

with wild mushrooms Cream of potato soup

with wild mushrooms

  • 300 Gramm geschälte Kartoffeln
  • 100 Gramm Wurzelgemüse
  • 100 Gramm Waldpilze
  • 1 ganze Zwiebel
  • 1 ganze Knoblauchzehe
  • 30 Gramm Speckwürfel
  • 40 Gramm Margarine
  • 750 ml Brühe
  • 200 ml Sahne
  • 1 Zweig Thymian
  • nach Belieben Petersilie, Butter, Salz, Pfeffer, Muskat

Clean, wash and finely dice the root vegetables. Finely dice the onion and garlic clove and finely chop the thyme. Sauté the diced bacon with the margarine in a pan until lightly browned, add the diced onion, garlic, root vegetables and thyme. Sauté, add the stock and cook for 2 minutes.


Finely grate the potatoes, add to the soup and cook for a further 5 minutes, add the cream, season and flavour. Clean, wash and chop the mushrooms and sauté in a pan with butter. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped parsley and pour over the soup when serving.

  • Riesling (trocken)
  • Riesling (halbtrocken & feinherb)

the classic with a difference Franconian cider soup

the classic with a difference

  • 500 ml Weißwein (Spätlese)
  • 500 ml Geflügelbrühe
  • 350 ml Sahne
  • 30 Gramm Zwiebeln
  • 30 Gramm Weißes vom Lauch
  • 30 Gramm Sellerie
  • 30 Gramm Karotten
  • 30 Gramm Butter
  • 180 Gramm Mehl
  • 2 Lorbeerblätter
  • 1 EL Butterschmalz
  • 4 Scheiben Weißbrot
  • Nach Belieben Zucker, Muskat, Zimt, Salz

Sauté the vegetables in butter until lightly browned, dust with flour and then add the vegetable stock, wine and 250 ml cream. Add the spices and simmer for approx. 15 minutes.

 

Remove the crusts from the slices of white bread and cut into 1 cm cubes. Fry in hot clarified butter until golden brown and season with cinnamon, whip the remaining cream until stiff.

<p

 

<p> Strain the soup and flavour with nutmeg and salt.

 

Pour into deep plates, garnish with whipped cream and the cinnamon crusts.

  • Müller-Thurgau (trocken)
  • Silvaner (trocken)

with pears, beans, parsley root and black walnuts Venison medallions

with pears, beans, parsley root and black walnuts

  • 12 Stück Rehmedaillions (a 80g)
  • 30 Gramm gebratene Speckstreifen
  • 200 ml Bechamelsauce
  • 3 EL Sonnenblumenöl
  • 8 kleine Petersilienwurzeln mit Grün (alternativ Knollensellerie)
  • 6 - 8 breite Schnippelbohnen
  • 1 große Birne
  • 4 - 6 schwarze Walnüsse
  • 100 ml Wildfond
  • 2 EL Butter
  • 2 Stängel glatte Petersilie
  • nach Geschmack Salz

Preheat the oven to 180 °C top and bottom heat. Clean, peel and trim the parsley roots. Clean the beans and cut into diagonal pieces. Blanch the parsley roots and beans separately in boiling salted water and rinse immediately in iced water.

 

Cut the walnuts into eighths and warm in the game stock. Wash the unpeeled pear, cut into eighths, remove the core and cut into thin slices. Fry the venison medallions on both sides in oil, then finish cooking in the oven for approx. 3 - 5 minutes.

 

In the meantime, toss the beans and parsley roots in melted butter and season with salt. Arrange the vegetables with the black walnuts and pear slices on large plates. Place the medallions on top, garnish with game stock, Béchamel sauce and bacon strips.

 

Tip: You can make your own black walnuts. To do this, prick the walnuts all over with a fork or skewer and place in water for 10 days. Change the water every day so that the tannic acid can drain off. Boil the nuts 3 times in salted water until they are deep black. Simmer with bay leaves and peppercorns for approx. 20 minutes until soft. Layer in preserving jars and cover with syrup. The nuts can be kept for approx. 1 year.

  • Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
  • Pinot Gris (trocken)

with ribbon noodles Coq au Riesling

with ribbon noodles

  • 1 ganzes Huhn
  • 0,4 Liter Riesling
  • 0,2 Liter Sahne
  • 1 kl. Glas Cognac
  • 2 Stück Schalotten
  • 1 Stück Knoblauchzehe
  • 1 Stück Eigelb
  • 1/2 Bund Petersilie
  • 1 EL Mehl
  • 50 Gramm Butter
  • 1 EL Olivenöl
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer

Carve the chicken. Heat approx. 50 g butter with 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken pieces until light brown (without the lid). Season lightly with salt.

 

Finely chop the shallots, peel and finely chop the garlic. Chop the parsley and add everything to the meat. Sauté briefly with the pan closed. Pour the cognac over the meat and light it (flambé). Deglaze with 1/3 litre of Riesling and leave to simmer for half an hour over a low heat. If necessary, add a little more wine and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

 

Remove the chicken pieces and keep warm for a short time. Mix 1 tbsp of flour with 1 egg yolk and the cream and whisk into the sauce. Flavour with salt and pepper. Return the chicken pieces to the pan. Serve immediately.

 

This goes well with tagliatelle.

 

Variant:Fry 150 g fresh mushrooms in 50 g butter and add.

  • Riesling (trocken)