An alcohol-free wine? That sounds paradoxical at first. After all, alcohol is the main flavor carrier in wine. Nevertheless, even a wine without alcohol can be a real taste experience. To make your choice easier, we'll show you five delicious alternatives to conventional wine . You'll also learn how alcohol-free wines are made.

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Reading time approx. 2 minutes

In principle, the production of a wine without alcohol differs little from that of a conventional wine. The alcohol is only removed from the wine after production. In recent years, the so-called vacuum distillation has become the norm. The advantage: the low pressure lowers the boiling point of the liquids. In the case of alcohol, this is just 30 degrees in a vacuum.

In this way, the alcohol can be removed particularly gently. At higher temperatures, "dealcoholization" would result in a loss of flavor - many ingredients would be destroyed.

Good to know!

Are non-alcoholic wines really alcohol-free?

According to European food law, wines can be described as "alcohol-free" even if they contain a maximum of 0.5% vol. alcohol. Therefore, always pay attention to the label of the wine if you want to be sure. The level of residual alcohol varies from wine to wine. In practice, however, a residual alcohol level of 0.25% vol. is rarely exceeded.

The gentle evaporation of the alcohol means that many of the original aromas remain in the wine. In recent years, this production process has improved alcohol-free wines enormously. Base wines such as Sauvignon Blanc or Gewürztraminer also create a fruity aroma typical of wine, which somewhat compensates for the lack of alcohol.

Of course, you can still notice the lack of alcohol. Alcohol carries flavor . Without it, you can rarely retain the full intensity of the aroma. Some winemakers therefore rely on "aroma recovery." This means that the aromas are added back to the wine later and usually sweetened again.

As with wine itself, the same applies to wine alternatives: tastes vary. So, give it a try!

The German Wine Institute assumes that the market share of non-alcoholic wine alternatives is still "less than one percent." However, experts are observing increasing sales figures for almost all suppliers. This indicates an ever-increasing importance . In a Nielsen survey, however, hardly anyone knew that there is also wine without alcohol, the institute quotes. Only around 15 percent of those surveyed knew about non-alcoholic white wine, 12 percent about the red alternative, and 9 percent about the rosé alternative.