In Gers, a wine dealcoholization center to adapt to the market

"Customers expect a 0% alcohol wine," explains engineer Romain Laher, manager in charge of dealcoholization at Chai Sobre, which opened last June in Vic-Fezensac, Gers.

"Vinifications for dealcoholized wines" do not differ fundamentally from those "that can be done for all wines," observes Frédéric Ben, head of vinification and oenology at Chai Sobre.

In this structure, the alcohol molecules are removed while retaining the wine's aromas, using a special process developed to adapt to "the growing appeal of a different product," adds Mr. Laher.

"In full expansion"

From batch selection to bottling, the site was created on the initiative of the start-up Moderato and the Vivadour group of winegrowers from Gers.

Prepared like a traditional wine, the product has its alcohol removed by a "new tool" developed "fairly recently" which uses "a cold distillation process", explains the engineer.

"We will reduce the pressure within the machine and this will lower the boiling point of the alcohol," which is removed "at a much lower temperature than in a conventional distillation," he explains.

Going through several stages including the passage of alcohol "to the vapor phase", this method, unlike distillation at room temperature, makes it possible to obtain "the best qualities in the dealcoholized product", he points out while following the process from a touch screen.

However, removing the alcohol "reinforces the acidic sensation of the wine," which must "be compensated with sugar in the final product," notes Frédéric Ben.

Around 6,000 hectoliters are being produced this year by the winery, which is forecasting a 50% annual growth rate. The dealcoholization center is "very young but expanding rapidly," adds the winemaking director, who hopes that the site's production capacity can increase to 80,000 hectoliters per year.

"Disenchantment with alcoholic beverages"

It was in Gascony, in the Gers region, where the wines have particular "aromatic profiles," that the start-up Moderato, specializing in the sale of alcohol-free wine, found the candidates for the creation of the center, says Sébastien Thomas, co-founder of the company.

The production of Gros Manseng, Colombard and Sauvignon thus responds to the "cultural and global phenomenon of changing consumption," he adds.

Since the 1960s, "we have seen a continuous decline (in wine sales), which was very significant in the 1970s and 1980s," explains Pascal Dupeyron, director of the wine sector within the Vivadour group, which brings together 400 winegrowers in the Gers region.

Even today, "despite the reputation of French wines" and "all the expertise in the country", this continuous decline over the years "results in a difficulty in selling our wines", he points out.

Observing "the emergence of disenchantment, particularly among young people, with alcoholic beverages", the Vivadour group began to take an interest in the production of dealcoholized wine in 2023.

"We asked ourselves how we could expand our work so that we could make the most of winegrowers' reserves," says Mr. Dupeyron.

According to a 2022 report by the CNIV (National Committee of Interprofessions of Wines with Appellations and IGPs), wine consumption is expected to fall by 25% by 2035, while the global market for non-alcoholic wines is expected to skyrocket, reaching $5 billion in 2032 compared to $1.8 billion in 2022, according to the American company Fact.MR.

In this market, Moderato sells 50% of its products in France and 50% abroad in fifteen countries including Canada, Switzerland, Denmark, but also the United Arab Emirates, according to Sébastien Thomas, who wants to bring alcohol-free wine "into the family of French excellence."