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The New Zealand winery Forrest Wines has discovered a method of reducing the alcohol content in wines while they are still growing and maturing on the vine. This involves dividing the foliage vertically into three parts. The upper third has the best photosynthesis performance and stores the most sugar in the grapes, while the middle third produces significantly less sugar. The lower third basically only exists to protect the grapes. Forrest removes the leaves in the top third so that the middle part of the foliage wall has to take over the work of the top third. However, this is not as efficient and forces the vine to concentrate on developing the flavours. This results in wines with a full flavour but up to a third less alcohol.
According to Beth Forrest, the timing of leaf removal is crucial for the method to work. The berries must already be more than halfway through veraison (colour change), as little sugar is produced beforehand, which the vines need to survive the winter. It took almost twelve years and many attempts to obtain a Sauvignon Blanc with a low alcohol content but full flavour, as the system is difficult to control. She also applied the process to Pinot Noir, but there it only works with old vines, as the foliage of a Pinot is very delicate.
"We learned that sugar, acidity and flavour are not linked and so we realised that we could greatly reduce the sugar without compromising the flavour and acidity," says Beth Forrest.
Using this process, Forrest Wines has released a Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot Noir, both at 9.5% vol. In most low-alcohol wines, the alcohol is removed by a physical process, but this often also removes flavours. According to the market research institute Nielsen, the market for wines with a lower alcohol content grew by 11.7 per cent in 2022.
(al / source: wine-searcher)