“ Cooking, without ceasing to be an art, will become scientific and will have to submit its formulas to a method and precision that will leave nothing to chance. » Auguste Escoffier in The Culinary Guide.
To be a cook is already to be a scientist. Measuring cooking times, monitoring the temperature, bringing to a boil… Master bartenders are a good example of this, and often turn out to be chemists. Mixology is a “science” where the bartender must master exact quantities. Wine is not a cocktail, but contains different components with almost scholarly names: minerals, phenolic compounds, organic acids, proteins. However, alcohol and water are the main components of wine. What to do when you want to drink less alcohol? Dealcoholized wine responds to this desire or need. Often called alcohol-free wine, the latter is a wine that has been dealcoholized by a process to maintain a taste experience without the risk of intoxication. Perfect for partying without calling Sam!
A double health side
In relation to wine
In addition to not being suitable for resolutions made at the start of the year, traditional wine is not suitable for people suffering from or prone to certain illnesses due to the percentage of alcohol it contains, which can interact in the event of drug treatment. .
Alcohol-free wine is also lighter on the body than traditional wine, because it is on average 70% less caloric.
Compared to juice
Dealcoholized wine is a good alternative to juice, as it is considerably less sweet. 5 grams of sugar per bottle, compared to 15 grams for grape juice and 8 grams for orange juice.
Three techniques for dealcoholizing wine
To remove alcohol from wine, three methods are mainly used.
Vacuum distillation
The wine is heated. The alcohol, more volatile than water, evaporates to be recovered in liquid form in a condenser. Once the alcohol has been recovered separately in liquid form in the condenser, the dealcoholized liquid is recovered to rework it from an aromatic point of view.
The membrane technique
This process is based on “osmotic pressure”, that is to say the pressure variation observed between two containers containing solutions of distinct concentrations of the same solute. These containers are separated by a semi-permeable membrane allowing only the solvent, the permeate, a mixture of water and alcohol, to pass through. We then proceed to extract the alcohol from this permeate to integrate it into the second container, a concentrate of water and aromas.
The rotating cone column
This process, which appeared 30 years ago, is based on the principle of vacuum evaporation, also called cold distillation. This makes it possible to separate liquids with different boiling temperatures. This separates the alcohol from the aromas. This method makes it possible to reduce the boiling point – 40° C instead of 78° C – to less degrade the aromas that we wish to preserve.
Dealcoholized or partially dealcoholized wine?
The Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control indicates that “dealcoholized” and “partially dealcoholized” products derived from a wine can use the term “wine”. The term “alcohol-free” is used in addition to the sales name when dealcoholized products have a TAV (alcoholic strength by volume, i.e. the proportion of alcohol) not greater than 0.5% vol. otherwise, they are said to be “partially dealcoholized” up to 8% TAV.
A not yet miraculous solution
Dealcoholized wines contain a much lower percentage of alcohol than a classic wine, but not non-existent. Therefore, always check the labels before serving them to pregnant women. According to Public Health France, we do not currently know what quantity of alcohol is toxic for an unborn child. It is recommended not to drink alcohol at all during pregnancy.
It remains to be hoped for progress in techniques for dealcoholization leading to a real TAV of 0.0%.
