A Bavarian patent aims to restore aroma to alcohol-free wine

A patented process developed by a company in Zorneding near Munich aims to bring wine aromas back after alcohol has been removed. BR tested the method on a 10-euro Passerina, a white wine brought back from a holiday in Italy.

Alcohol-free beer is well established, but alcohol-free wine has been harder to produce because many of its aromas are carried by the alcohol. The Zorneding company’s Solos technology separates and recovers those aromas before returning them to the alcohol-free wine.

The wine is first gently heated under vacuum, separating the ethanol from the rest of the liquid. The aromas collect in the alcohol-containing portion. A solid-phase filter then extracts them from the ethanol so they can be returned to the alcohol-free wine. The filter’s composition is a trade secret. The company says adding any other aromas would be prohibited under wine law.

Winemakers from around the world can have about 10 litres of their wine treated at the Zorneding test facility for around 750 euros. The company also operates plants using the system in other parts of the world. Its testing facility in Upper Bavaria lets winemakers assess whether producing an alcohol-free version of their wine could be worthwhile.

After two days, wine sommelier Alexander Gottschalk tasted the Passerina. Without the recovered aromas, he found it very light and neutral, with some spice, but lacking intensity and body. The version with aromas returned smelled noticeably stronger and more wine-like. Gottschalk said it had more body, a broader palate and a longer finish, concluding: “There’s nothing missing.”

Lea Hüttenhofer of Munich restaurant Waltz also tried the wine. She found the aroma pleasant and floral, but said it lacked some length and depth on the palate. Her assessment was that it was a solid option, better than many other alcohol-free alternatives, but still had room to improve.

Demand for alcohol-free alternatives is rising. According to the German Wine Institute, retail sales of alcohol-free wine recently increased by 44 percent. The category still accounts for about two percent of total wine sales, but one in three of the 506 businesses surveyed by the institute had added such products to their range. Among 18- to 25-year-olds, the share who drink alcohol weekly fell from 44 percent in 2011 to 25 percent in 2025.

Alcohol-free wine is also gaining ground in Bavaria. The Franconian Winemakers’ Association has put an alcohol-removal plant into operation and plans a second, which is also expected to use the Solos technology.