|
|
Alcohol-free wines require more work before de-alcoholization than other wines. This means fewer corrections are necessary afterward. This is stated by Rodolphe Frèrejean-Taittinger, who, along with his wife Maggie and partners like Pétrus, Cointreau, and Remy-Martin, founded the brand French Bloom. According to him, it is "the first organic alcohol-free super-premium sparkling wine." It has experienced rapid growth: "With an ultra-premium distribution network that includes the best hotels, restaurants, retailers, and the travel sector, we are pleased to see that our business is growing threefold annually," Frèrejean-Taittinger explained to the French wine magazine Vitisphere.
The founder explained in an interview with Vitisphere that he wants to "redefine the standards of the alcohol-free wine market" with French Bloom. His team has rethought the winemaking approach, deconstructed the process, and created their own technical specifications. "The simple de-alcoholization of a wine designed with alcohol content often leads to disappointing results. We select organic and vegan French wines. In Languedoc, we started harvesting two weeks earlier to ensure maximum acidity, followed by eight months of aging in oak barrels, acidification, and a triple de-alcoholization at low temperature. Unlike many others, we refuse to take shortcuts in production by adding sugar, sulfites, preservatives, or chemical additives."
French Bloom, which is now available in 30 countries, does not want to "give lectures, and we are by no means part of the anti-alcohol lobby. Research shows that about 70 percent of consumers who buy alcohol-free options want to replace their favorite drink, but there has been no premium substitute for sparkling wines. We estimate that about 80 percent of our customers drink alcohol, often fine wine and champagne, but they do not necessarily want to drink alcohol on every occasion," says Rodolphe Frèrejean-Taittinger.
(al / Source: vitisphere)