GO UBAVIDA: Sustainable strategies from the vineyard to the winery to obtain grapes with low sugar concentration and non-alcoholic wine

Type Grupo operativo
Status In progress
Execution 2024 -2027
Scope Supraautonómico
Autonomous community Castilla y León; Galicia; Madrid, Comunidad de
Main source of financing PEPAC 2023-2027

Abstract

UBAVIDA aims to produce a new range of non-alcoholic wines through a comprehensive approach to new agronomic/agricultural practices, improvement of technological processes in the winery and innovative and sustainable non-alcoholic processes; as well as the identification of technical and legal barriers, transfer of solutions to organizations to promote appropriate changes, sensory analysis and tastings with prescribers, market studies and transfer of results.

The project proposes the following innovations:

Obtaining wines with lower alcohol content and non-alcoholic wines with the organoleptic characteristics of their alcoholic counterparts.
Reduction of sugar content in grapes and selection of microorganisms to reduce alcohol content.
To determine the effects of dealcoholized wines on human health.
Market studies focused on the consumer and the acceptance of the wines developed.
It will reveal the technical barriers of current legislation for non-alcoholic products.
The results will allow for the adaptation of current regulations for fully dealcoholized wines.

Description

Low alcohol and dealcoholized wines can be produced at different stages of wine production (pre-fermentation, fermentation and post-fermentation stages) using various methods, such as reduction of fermentable sugars in the must before fermentation, reduction of alcohol production during fermentation and separation by membranes and heat treatment after complete fermentation of the wine.

The project aims to optimize the processes involved in obtaining non-alcoholic wines from grapes, seeking the greatest organoleptic similarity with their alcoholic counterparts and emphasizing their quality and food safety. It also seeks to identify technical and legal barriers and their solutions.

Description of activities

Obtain grapes of different varieties with lower sugar content and determine the optimal time for their harvest so that they maintain their polyphenolic and aromatic potential.
Define the conditions for vinification of low-sugar grapes to obtain low-alcohol wines: establishment of specific microorganisms (yeasts and bacteria), enzymes and nutrients based on the grape variety and its sugar content.
Obtain dealcoholized wines with aromatic, polyphenolic and bioactive compound profiles as similar as possible to the original wines with alcohol.
Optimize the available dealcoholization techniques to maintain the aromatic, polyphenolic and bioactive components of the original wine during the dealcoholization processes. Comparison of polyphenolic and aromatic components from the grape to the dealcoholized wine.
Define the tools, additives and ingredients necessary to ensure the chemical, microbiological, sensory and polyphenolic stability of dealcoholized wines, depending on the type of wine of origin, its alcohol content and the dealcoholization process to which it has been subjected.
Determination of bioactive compounds and their bioactivity in dealcoholized wines vs. wines with alcohol.
Definition of the legal barriers to non-alcoholic wines (oenological practices, organic production, etc.) and sensory analysis of the new wines developed in the project vs. commercial wines.

Contextual description

These latter methods, also known as physical dealcoholization methods (ethanol removal), are typically used after complete fermentation of the wine (i.e. in the post-fermentative phase of the wine) and can achieve good results when used in a final finish. Some studies have demonstrated the ability of some physical dealcoholization methods to preserve the phenolic compounds (Corona et al. 201911; Fedrizzi et al. 201412) of the final wine at certain levels of ethanol removal, with a taste almost similar to that of the original wines (in the case of partially dealcoholized wines).

The lack of harmonised international definitions and practices creates barriers in the international market and a loss of competitiveness in the European sector, hence the importance of promoting a “regulatory framework that allows the development of these products by eliminating the barriers that currently exist”.

These specifications should be included through other standards, currently under discussion both at the OIV and at the European Commission, requiring labelling standards as close as possible to those established for wine, with the aim of offering consumers a clear range of harmonised products in terms of the degree of dealcoholisation; a regulation of oenological practices and food additives, currently non-existent, which includes specific practices for beverages obtained by dealcoholisation of wine, and the development of innovative dealcoholised products, under the umbrella of the “wine” sector.

Furthermore, although the CAP has included dealcoholised wine in the wine category, the oenological practices associated with the dealcoholisation process are not authorised for the inclusion of this new category of dealcoholised wines within the scope of organic production.

Objectives

GO UBAVIDA aims to produce a new range of non-alcoholic wines by applying innovation and sustainability in agronomic/agricultural practices and the winemaking and non-alcoholic processes that lead to their production.

Results

Obtain grapes with lower sugar content and determine the optimal time for their harvest so that they maintain their polyphenolic and aromatic potential.
Definition of the winemaking conditions for low-sugar grapes to obtain low-alcohol wines: establishment of specific microorganisms, enzymes and nutrients.
Obtaining dealcoholized wines with aromatic, polyphenolic and bioactive compound profiles as similar as possible to the original wines with alcohol.
Optimization of dealcoholization techniques to maintain aromatic, polyphenolic and bioactive components. Comparison of components from grapes to dealcoholized wine.
Definition of the tools and additives and ingredients necessary to ensure chemical, microbiological, sensory and polyphenolic stability.
Determination of compounds responsible for bioactivity in dealcoholized wines vs. wines with alcohol.
Definition of barriers and sensory analysis of the wines developed. Preparation of a report for dissemination to official bodies.

Contact information

Coordinator name: Galician University Business Foundation (FEUGA)
Postal address: R/Lope Gómez de Marzoa S/N - Campus Vida, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña
Coordinator email: l.carbia@feuga.es
Phone: +34 981534180

Additional information

According to data from the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV), half of consumers are moderating the amount of alcohol they drink, with this percentage being higher among the young population. There are several factors that are influencing this decrease in consumption, the main ones being related to health, whether due to problems or illnesses or the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, the latter being especially important for the youngest, another factor. Important are the increasingly restrictive laws on driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to Wine Intelligence data, 58% of this segment of the population is reducing their consumption of alcoholic beverages, while in other countries such as Australia and Germany this figure is around 65%. Furthermore, it should be noted that, according to market forecasts, these figures are expected to increase in the coming years.

For all these reasons, there is a clear need to develop this GO UBAVIDA project and to be able to respond to the needs and opportunities offered by the market, and to face the challenge of producing a new range of dealcoholised wines that stand out for being innovative and competitive products at a level, due to their sensory quality, chemical composition and biological stability, and for their health-beneficial properties, through the innovation and sustainability of agronomic/agricultural practices and dealcoholisation processes, also addressing legal aspects, consumer acceptance and market studies.

Coordinators