As interest in healthier living continues to grow, so too does the no- and low-alcohol wine industry.
No- and Low-alcohol ("NOLO" for short) wines are growing in popularity worldwide. Seeing rapid growth in recent years, this category of wine is especially popular with the younger generations who tend to have a greater concern for healthy lifestyles.
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What Are NOLO Wines?
Category Growth
Production
Recommendations
What Are NOLO Wines?
So what exactly are NOLO wines? Well as the name suggests, NOLO wines are those which contain less (or no) alcohol when compared to a traditional wine.
No-alcohol wines are those where the alcohol has been removed, usually through post-production processes. It is important to note that these wines can contain upwards of 0.5% alcohol by volume, even though they are labeled as non-alcoholic (much like kombucha).
L0w-alcohol wines fill the gap between no-alcohol wines (0.5% abv) and traditional wines (most still wines are between 11.5%-14% abv). The general consensus is that anything under 10% abv can be considered low alcohol.
Category Growth
A 2021 analysis performed by NielsenIQ found that for the 52-week period ending September 18, 2021, the total NOLO category (which includes beer, wine and spirits) grew to $3.1 billion in off-premise sales. This was a growth rate of 10.4 percent, which is impressive when compared to the 2.2 percent growth for the alcohol category as a whole.
During the same time period, low-alcohol wines saw a growth of 18%, whole no-alcohol wines grew by 39.4%. In both cases the NOLO wines growth rate exceed that of their beer and spirits counterparts.
The analysis also found that a large population of those who purchased NOLO drinks were not abstaining from alcohol. Upwards of 78% of these consumers in the U.S. were also purchasing alcoholic beer, wine, or spirits, an indication of a trend around mindfulness and moderation when it came to alcohol consumption.
Production
NOLO wines in most cases start as a traditional full strength wine. The secret to their creation comes post-production, where some or all of the alcohol is removed via vacuum distillation, spinning cones (centrifuge with added nitrogen), or reverse osmosis. These will most likely have the term "dealcoholized" or "alcohol-removed" on the label.
Another method producers use is to limit the amount of fermentation the wine undergoes in order to limit the amount of alcohol generated from the beginning. For these wines, the term "non-alcoholic" will be listed on the label.
The alcohol in wine plays a role in providing body, texture and taste to the final product. When the alcohol is removed, that missing volume (and associated characteristics) needs to be replaced. This is done by adding sugar, grape or other fruit juices, and botanicals to mimic the taste and feel of the alcoholic counterpart. In some cases, bubbles (carbonation) are also added to give texture and life to the wine.
Even though producers are getting better and better at mimicking texture and flavor in the absence of alcohol, some wines, such as medium and full body reds, still pose a challenge. Since medium to full body reds are usually higher in alcohol, there is a greater volume that needs replacing. Pair that with the need to reproduce a dry and tannic texture and you've got a real challenge on your hands.
Recommendations
When choosing between non-alcoholic vs dealcoholized wines, we recommend going with the latter option. Having undergone a full fermentation cycle, these NOLO wines taste and feel much closer to the real thing.
Here are our recommendations if you're looking to give NOLO wines a try:
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