(Manfred Klimek, text & photo)
Winegrowing suddenly has a future again that hardly anyone would have thought possible just a few months ago. Ironically, it is precisely the technology that many winegrowers have long viewed with scepticism – and quite rightly so – that is offering the industry what may well be its greatest opportunity since the introduction of temperature-controlled fermentation. We are not referring to dealcoholisation itself. What is meant is the new generation of equipment for aroma recovery. What used to often taste like stale grape juice with little character now possesses fragrance, structure and that inner logic that makes wine what it is. The alcohol is removed from the wine. Its volatile aromas, however, are captured and subsequently reintroduced. That sounds technical. It is technical. In fact, though, this is transforming viticulture. For the first time, rather than creating a substitute world alongside classic wine, a second world of wine is emerging.
Over the years, a parallel culture has emerged around ‘proxies’: tea, herbs, fermented products, essences and spices were intended to replace what wine supposedly could no longer deliver. Many of these drinks taste excellent. It’s just that they have nothing to do with wine. They form a beverage category of their own. The wine industry had to stand by and watch as the very same catering sector that had been shaped by wine for decades suddenly began to try out and serve alternatives. Now the situation is changing fundamentally. As alcohol-free wine comes ever closer to classic wine in terms of aroma, as sommeliers integrate it naturally into menus, and as guests order it not out of necessity but out of conviction, the ‘proxy’ world is losing part of its previous unique selling point. Wine is beginning to fill the gap itself that other drinks had temporarily occupied.
What is surprising about this is not so much the technology as the reaction of many winegrowers. Some still view this development with scepticism. They regard de-alcoholised wines as a side issue or even as a threat to the traditional understanding of wine. This is precisely what they may come to regret in a few years’ time. For nobody is calling for traditional wine to be replaced. The aim is to expand upon it. Viticulture has always been at its strongest when it has embraced diversity. New grape varieties, new cellar techniques or biodynamic viticulture were almost always viewed with suspicion at first. Today, they are a natural part of the range offered by many estates and the hospitality industry. Why should it be any different for alcohol-free or low-alcohol wines?
It is precisely here that an economic opportunity is opening up which seems remarkably logical. By their very nature, non-alcoholic wines do not have the same ageing potential as classic wines. Alcohol acts as a preservative; its absence alters the wine’s development in the bottle. These wines are meant to be drunk young – indeed, they must be drunk young. Yet this is not a weakness, but rather a category in its own right. Nobody expects a fresh, simple Sauvignon Blanc to be aged for twenty years. So why should we expect that of a de-alcoholised wine? A modern winery in the year 2027 could therefore offer three distinct ranges simultaneously: fresh non-alcoholic wines for aperitifs, lunch, as an accompaniment to starters or at the bar; young, lower-alcohol white wines for health-conscious connoisseurs, alongside mature, fine Rieslings, Burgundies or classic red wines for those moments when wine can remain exactly what it has been for centuries. One does not detract from the other. On the contrary, the individual categories reinforce one another.
Top-tier gastronomy, in particular, is already beginning to understand this. Nowadays, a menu no longer needs to be accompanied by increasingly higher alcohol levels. Why not serve an alcohol-free Riesling with the first course, an elegant white wine at 11 per cent by volume with fish, and a matured Pinot Noir or Blaufränkisch with the main course? This does not diminish wine; it broadens its horizons. The real challenge therefore lies neither in technology nor in quality, but in our mindset. The wine-growing industry must overcome the reservations it has developed regarding its own future. Technology has now advanced further than many of the debates surrounding it. It opens up possibilities that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago.
The real question, therefore, is no longer whether non-alcoholic and low-alcohol wines will become part of the wine industry. They already are. The only question now is which estates have the courage to help shape this new world of wine in good time. For one thing has become abundantly clear: simply carrying on as before is the riskiest decision of all.