Can non-alcoholic wines became a trend?

Low-alcohol wines can be an interesting product for a variety of stakeholders, given that they offer various benefits to consumers, reduce alcohol consumption, thereby reducing the harm caused by alcohol to the consumer's health, and at the same time provide the consumer with the specific characteristics of wines, beneficial for health. 

Although the market for alcohol-free or low-alcohol wine is just beginning to develop, and even though additional research efforts are still needed to deliver quality products, and the effort to promote and raise awareness of the availability of these wines is considerable, studies show that the degree of acceptance of these wines is increasing.

At this moment Europe is in difficulty because the viticulture legislation is strict and thus it has become mandatory to create secondary legislation to regulate the production and quality classification of fully or partially dealcoholized wine. The most important question remains whether the fully or partially de-alcoholized wine will have DOC Designation of Controlled Origin or GI Geographical Indication and what will be the approved technologies for this. 

Changes brought about by new consumption policies promoted by the World Health Organization, as well as increasing consumer demand for healthier food and beverages, has led to innovations and opened up the market for low and reduced alcohol beverages and non-alcohol alternatives.

Starting with the 2007 study by the World Cancer Research Fund, which showed that a drop in alcohol content from 14.2% to 10% would reduce the risk of breast and bowel cancer by 7% and after it was debated " Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Consumption of Alcohol' at the 63rd World Health Assembly in May 2010, more and more companies have been looking for ways to dealcoholized wines that can be done in whole or in part and that manage to keep the aromatic and qualitative characteristics of the wine. The overall message to the spirits market was that there was a need to "reduce alcohol strength across different beverage categories''. 

This message will become even stronger now that the EU has approved the Beca Report, voted in February 2022, so the alcohol market is expected to undergo major changes.

Of the entire beverage category, alcohol-free or low-alcohol wines have been far less successful in the market compared to alcohol-free beer, due to several technical and marketing challenges.

Low-alcohol wine has great potential for success for the main stakeholders: the wine industry, consumers, and advocates of healthy diets.

However, further efforts are needed to educate both the market and the producers regarding the production technology and sensory characteristics of low-alcohol wines. 

There is a need for viticultural innovations to allow the development of the quality of these wines and to educate consumers in this regard. How different markets perceive dealcoholized wines and how they will be consumed varies from country to country and further analysis of these differences may be necessary. 

While in the past wine consumption behavior was hedonistic and social, these consumer beliefs have changed over time, with consumers now placing greater importance on a healthy lifestyle in direct relation to hedonistic and social beliefs.

In addition, today's consumer groups choose high-quality, unique, and authentic brands and flavors. This phenomenon, called "premiumization", is also observed in the global market for alcoholic beverages. In conclusion, consumption patterns are changing and promise continued growth in interest and acceptability of low-alcohol wine.

The UK (27%) and Germany (20%) had the highest acceptance rates, while these types of wine were less accepted in France (12%). In Australia, consumer interest was found to be low in 2010 (6–8%) but has increased to 16%. Furthermore, it was found in these studies that acceptance would increase to 40% if the taste were the same as for standard wines. Stockley et al. found that health was the most important reason for changes in wine consumption in a representative sample of Australians.

A market shift is evident. Particularly in the UK and Germany, major supermarket chains such as Tesco and Aldi have launched de-alcohol or low-alcohol wines to meet consumer demand. Recent examples also include a new 5.5% wine that was produced for Marks & Spencer Group UK by a winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and de-alcohol wines were produced by a winery in the Hunter Valley, Australia for the same supermarket chain.

Research commissioned by Prowein which investigated consumer behavior at the individual level in the US, China, Germany, and the UK suggested that mainly the younger generation showed interest in lower alcohol wines. In China and the UK, women and those aged, 18 to 39 prefer wines with an alcohol content between 5.5 and 8%.