|
|
The winery Heribert Bayer - In Signo Leonis**** presents the world's first de-alcoholized wine, the 'Zeronimo Century Blend', which has aged for 20 years. The red wine cuvée consists of 50 percent Blaufränkisch, 30 percent Pinot Noir, and 20 percent Merlot from over 60-year-old vines from Neckenmarkt in Burgenland. The wines were aged for 24 months in new barriques and stored for 18 years in the winery's aging cellar. The bottles were opened and gently de-alcoholized as a cuvée. The wine costs 49.90 euros from the winery and contains 22 grams of residual sugar per liter.
In September, the winery presented a test batch of the 'Century Blend' to several experts, including wein.plus editor Alexander Lupersböck. The reactions, even from dedicated skeptics, were very positive. Comments included: 'Tastes like aged Bordeaux' and 'In a blind tasting, one would not guess that this is an alcohol-free wine.' Therefore, a limited series of 2,500 numbered bottles has now been produced and bottled.
Winemakers Katja Bernegger and Patrick Bayer are achieving global success with their brand Zeronimo as pioneers of high-quality alcohol-free wine. They were also the first to offer their top wine, the cuvée 'In Signo Leonis', as an alcohol-free variant 'Zeronimo Leonis Blend' in 2023. Noticing that the tertiary aromas that develop during aging remain intact during the de-alcoholization process, unlike the primary fruit aromas, it made sense to start an experiment with aged red wine. Already every second bottle at the Heribert Bayer winery is alcohol-free.
(al / Source: Press Release)