Whisper – non-alcoholic wine has arrived in France

In the vineyards of Bordeaux, the unspeakable became drinkable. Non-alcoholic wine arrived.

Yesterday’s heresy is now – thanks to science and the economic crisis – today’s opportunity.

Wineries that would rather set fire to their grapes than submit to such infamy are now openly considering a bottle without booze.

And developers are moving quickly to create wines that are deliberately designed to get the best out of the dealcoholization process.

“When we started a few years ago, what we were doing was outright nonsense,” says Bordeaux oenologist Frédéric Brochet, who helped create the Moderato range of alcohol-free wines.

“But we have made great progress. And today we are getting closer and closer to our goal. I think it will be a revolution in the wine world.”

The first ever has just been launched in Bordeaux cave – a wine store – dedicated exclusively to alcohol-free wines, reflecting a shift in perception that has caught many in the industry by surprise.

“We only opened four weeks ago and already we have winemakers from the region coming to us asking about the soft drinks market,” says Alexandre Quettanet, who owns Les Belles Grappes with his wife Anne.

“They don’t know anything about how to do it, but they see it coming and they want to be a part of it.”

Several things happened to make the moment convenient.

First of all, the French wine world is in deep trouble. Domestic consumption continues to fall, and the Chinese market is not what it used to be. US President-elect Donald Trump threatens new fees. Precious ancient vineyards all over France are being uprooted.

Second, consumption habits are changing, especially among young people. Supermarkets now give more space to beer than to wine. Most 20-year-olds have never had a wine habit – and they’re also far more health-conscious than their elders.

An alcohol-free lifestyle is spreading. Currently, 10% of the French beer market is non-alcoholic. In Spain it is 25%.

And the third – the technology improves like yeast.

In the past – and still for the cheaper brands – the method was to simply boil off the alcohol and then add compensating flavorings. The result – especially for the reds – is mediocre at best. Such drinks are not even called wine, but “drinks based on non-alcoholic wine”.

However, now there are new methods of low-temperature vacuum distillation and “capture” of aromas to return to distilled wine. The result is wines that can legitimately call themselves wines and begin to win their positions among discerning consumers.

“With red wines, you have to be prepared for a sensation that won’t be the same as a traditional alcoholic wine. We can’t pretend we can replicate, however, the full mouthfeel,” says Moderato’s Fabien Marchand-Cassanier.

“But what you get is a moment of true wine. The bouquet, the tannins, the fruit, the balance, all there to be enjoyed.”

At the Clos de Boir estate near St. Emilion, a full third of sales now come from the château’s two alcohol-free brands – soon to be three. Owner Caraly de Boir first saw the possibilities when she was asked in 2019 to develop a non-alcoholic wine for the Qatari owners of PSG football club.

“My family didn’t want to talk to me for a year, that was my “betrayal”. And even today I get hate mail from winemakers that I’m losing the market,” she says.

“But now my father congratulates me and says I’m the locomotive on the wine train. And if we’re surviving today in these tough times, it’s because we’ve moved to the alcohol-free market.”

“It was very hard for the purists to accept,” says Bernard Rabui, a winemaker at the Bordeaux Families cooperative.

“But we have to develop. The fact is that customers are not where they used to be. So we have to go and get them or they’ll go somewhere else.”

In many ways, promoters of alcohol-free wine make the point that it allows non-drinkers – who previously felt excluded – to join in on the wine banter. And it is true that the rituals of discovery, sniffing, description and comparison are now open to all.

“We want to try to bring back the France of our youth, when everyone was sitting around the dinner table drinking wine and it was a real moment of sharing,” says Anne Cattané.

“And these days, the only way we’re going to be able to do that is if still wines become part of the culture.”

“The idea that the wine world has always been the way it is now is nonsense,” says oenologist Broschet.

“Everything is developing. Once upon a time, the barrel was an innovation. Cork was an innovation; grape varieties were innovations. And now there’s something new that could help save the industry and the beautiful landscape and culture that go with it. .

“As (poet) Paul Valeri said, what is tradition but successful innovation?”