Three years ago, we took a closer look at no-low wines. Since then, the market has grown and some geographical indications have even emerged. But what are the real markets for the category? We asked a sample of European companies.
Bodegas Arúspide: low-alcohol wines for young Spanish consumers, Sangria elsewhere
Arúspide was founded in 1999 in Ciudad Real located in southern Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Its current production now totals 490,000 litres, 70% of which is sold for export. Its director Francisco Alcantára explains how the winery is respectful of wine traditions, yet open to innovation, including partially fermented must, carbonic maceration and sulphite-free products.
Francisco Alcantára, the director and manager at Arúspide.
Arúspide pioneered low-alcohol drinks in Spain, back in the 2000s. By blocking alcoholic fermentation at -4°C, the winery produces a drink with an ABV of 6% whose sugar comes solely from the grapes. It is marketed under the Landó brand and comes in red and white versions.
The brand is sold primarily in Spain and targets mainly young consumers discovering the world of wine. Its aromatics – red and black fruits, citrus, apples/pears and fresh herbs – indeed appeal to people in the process of becoming wine literate. The packaging, too, has been crafted to resonate with this target audience. Based on his experience, however, Alcantára has noticed that over time the same consumers tend to gradually gravitate towards drier wines.
In the international market, demand is increasing most noticeably for the winery’s Sangrias, the ultimate Spanish speciality. Again, Arúspide starts with partially fermented must with the same natural sugars. Concurrently with this, though, demand for low-alcohol wines is growing, particularly in the Japanese market for Arúspide where importers are looking for customised products and brands.
Bordeaux Families: the gamble pays off
For this group of 2 co-operative wineries and 300 families in the Bordeaux region of Entre-deux-Mers, alcohol-free wines became a gamble four years ago, and one that started reaping rewards a year ago. It offered a way of reacting to declining consumption of classic Bordeaux wines and responding to newly-minted expectations. Anna Sophie Sobeki, its marketing and communications manager, explains that a machine was imported from South Africa. Using partial vacuum distillation so as not to go above 35-40°C and retaining 0.5% ABV, aromas are preserved, and so too is the quality.
Anna Sophie Sobecki, marketing and communications manager at Bordeaux Families.
Its customers are knowledgeable people with a wine culture. “We need to stop thinking that Millennials and Gen Zers need alcohol!” stresses Sobeki. As a matter of fact, 60% of those who drink this type of product are flexi-drinkers. The packaging is adapted to suit different markets – you can have a normal bottle, avoid weird names and flashy colours. In fact, one market that wants reassurance is Asia, or even the wine merchant distribution channel. Conversely, in Europe, puns and screwcaps, for example, are deemed acceptable.
Alcohol-free Vin De France by Bordeaux Families.
The strongest demand comes from the Netherlands and Nordic countries, where there are fewer preconceived ideas. They are also popular in the United States, whilst Southern Europe is more challenging. In France, it is now possible to label a de-alcoholised wine with an ABV of 0.5% as ‘Vin De France’, provided no aromas are added. There is also the IGP Atlantique where the ABV can be lowered to 9%. 10% of Bordeaux Families’ volumes now transit via the machine which is running at full capacity.
François Lasportes, in charge of the de-alcoholisation machine at Bordeaux Families.
Domaines Pierre Chavin: still in growth mode
Since we spoke to Mathilde Boulachin three years ago, the volumes marketed by her trading company in Béziers, Pierre Chavin, have risen to 2.5 million bottles annually. And alcohol-free products account for half of that volume. Distribution covers 65 countries, whilst the online store generates 0.5 million euros out of the company’s total revenue of €15 million.
Mathilde Boulachin in the vineyards.
93% of revenue comes from exports, but the French market, which was lagging behind in the alcohol-free category, is now experiencing double-digit growth. The products are available in the hospitality industry through France Boisson, at the Grande Epicerie in Paris, a handful of Michelin-starred restaurants, Club Méditerranée holiday resorts and Le Ponant cruise ships.
Here too, the typical consumer profile in France is increasingly the flexi-drinker, or former drinkers. There are urban professionals, older people and AB+ categories who want to have a social life, but keep in control, for instance. The closer you get to the culture of wine, the more vinous the style of wine has to be, stresses Boulachin.
At Wine Paris, Pierre Chavin will be launching its Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine labelled Vin de France, with Brut dosage. This trustworthy designation is recognised both in France and overseas. “For beer, alcohol-free offerings account for a much larger share of the market, whereas de-alcoholised wine still has plenty of room to grow”, says Boulachin.
Bulles de vanille: low-alcohol wine with a touch of spice!
Hervé Ruelle and Christine Lucas are fourth-generation winegrowers in Champagne’s Marne Valley, where they have 3.3 ha under vine. Six years ago, when they returned from a holiday in the West Indies, they brought back 300 vanilla pods. Hervé Ruelle decided to have some fun by adding a vanilla pod to 11 bottles of his Champagne. After 5-6 months’ maceration, they tried the wines with a friend, and loved it!
Hervé Ruelle and Christine Lucas, the creators of Bulles de Vanille.
This marked the start of ‘Bulles de vanille’. Obviously the product could not be marketed under the Champagne appellation, which is just as well because Ruelle’s aim was to sell a lower alcohol beverage. His target audience are 20-35 year-olds looking for fruitiness and appetising flavours. Vanilla is all about pastries, and who doesn’t like cake?
He ferments Muscat à Petits Grains grapes with a little Clairette using the ancestral method, with no chemical yeasts. Fermentation is arrested by filtering the yeast then the wine is bottled with a vanilla pod. Some sugar is left, adding to the appetising flavours. The bottles are marketed on the internet or at wine shows to an audience of French and Belgian consumers. The target audience should widen to include various countries around the equator that are particularly fond of vanilla. In fact, once the wine has been drunk, the vanilla pod can be re-used. Ruelle also produces a rosé version with a little Gamay. Production remains on a boutique scale at 2,000 bottles, but he believes he can scale it up in response to higher demand.
Univers Drink: an entire alcohol-free range
In Belgium, Jordan Daniels is the founder and MD of Univers Drink. He started out in 2009 by creating the Night Orient brand as a nod to the party space and now markets 2 million bottles a year, sold in 49 countries. He realised there was a lot of demand for reduced alcohol beverages, but not much choice. Daniels therefore started with sparkling propositions, then de-alcoholised wines and now mocktails as premixes and alcohol-free spirits. He explains that he is the only one who can supply a full range of alcohol-free drinks – his range also includes beer.
Jordan Daniels, the founder of Univers Drinks.
For the wines, he sources the grapes in Spain and France, for example. The wines are totally de-alcoholised at low temperatures to 0% ABV. The fact that aromas are subsequently added means that he can no longer use the word ‘wine’. The aim is to achieve quality at very affordable prices. His drinks have garnered as many as twenty or so accolades.
Daniels started out in the Belgian market and comments that the alcohol-free market has changed significantly. Whereas in the past it was binary – alcohol or no-alcohol – now there is no black or white. Young people in particular can start off with an alcohol-free drink, for many different reasons. “Alcohol is not like it used to be”, claims Daniels. Annual growth is in the range of 20% to 30% and exports account for 60% of sales, mostly bound for Nordic countries, Eastern Europe, Canada and Japan. Distribution is through multiple grocer outlets like Delhaize and Carrefour.
Loire Propriétés: the decision to outsource, for now
Marketing manager Audrey Clisson explains the no-low strategy rolled out by this group of co-operative wineries which markets around 280,000 hectolitres of wine. Its first attempt dates back three years when it launched Cabernet d’Anjou and PGI Rosé d’Anjou with an ABV of 9 to 10%. The wines were produced by harvesting the grapes early and avoiding chaptalisation. The lower alcohol content was stated on the label but the wines failed to take off, perhaps because the gap with the conventional range was not wide enough.
Audrey Clisson, marketing and communications manager with Loire Propriétés.
The group now markets a 0% ABV drink – that was the original remit – under an impactful brand, Les Anges, with annual volumes totalling approximately 15,000 bottles. It’s a start. The brand comes in still white made from Sauvignon blanc, and a sparkling offering. The wines are lightly flavoured and sweetened because trials with a 0.5% ABV Vin De France were not found to be satisfactory from a flavour perspective. Target markets are the USA, Canada, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Germany. Due to the quality positioning, with a price tag of 8 to 9 euros, the wines are not aimed at super/hypermarkets where demand centres on the 3 to 4 euros price range. The French origins – everything is produced in France – are a good selling point which is why this is highlighted on the label with a flag.
Céline Tremblay, export sales director at Loire Propriétés presents the wine.
Currently, the wines are sourced from a trading company, due to the fact that the co-operative’s members produce appellation wines, and then de-alcoholised by a service provider. There are some PGI wines with an ABV of 6%, but this is not yet the case for PGI Val de Loire. Perhaps in the future we’ll see the co-operative’s growers producing de-alcoholised wines…
Cantine Sgarzi Luigi: alcohol-free and vegan
Francesca Sgarzi presents the namesake company. Founded near Bologna in the 1930s, it has been family-owned for four generations and the entire family works there today.
Francesca Sgarzi of the namesake company.
Its alcohol-free venture began in 2003, and now accounts for half a million bottles annually out of a total of 18 million. Progress is incremental every month. The option chosen here is totally de-alcoholised wines in white and red with spritz and spritz ginger versions, for example. Consequently, the drinks are flavoured with natural extracts and sweetened with grape must. Cantine Sgarzi expects the low-alcohol market to grow by 20% annually, whilst alcohol-free could increase by 8%.
Markets are located in Italy and mostly overseas – shipments to the USA and South Korea, for instance, are sizeable. Russia is also increasingly interested. Here too, the Italian origins of the product are a selling point and feature prominently, though perhaps not always enough, feels Sgarzi.
There is a substantial audience for alcohol-free beverages, for religious reasons or driving, for instance. Some people are looking for healthy options and also vegan alternatives. Cantine Sgarzi is mindful of this demand and supplies vegan alcohol-free drinks. Then there’s Asia, where some people want to avoid the ‘Asian flush’ after a glass of wine and indulge whilst at the same time steering clear of substances that can prove toxic to them.
All of these testimonials demonstrate just how much the no-low category is not a flash-in-the-pan and has a bright future ahead. The trend stems from two main drivers – new consumption habits and climate change. With over-ripe grapes becoming increasingly common in long-standing wine regions, yielding wines that now often reach ABVs of 14-15%, these newer options are being welcomed, particularly by younger generations whose buying cues have undergone a sea-change.
