Can mixers save the state of Rhine-Hesse's wine supply?

Rheinhessen Winemakers Embrace Non-Alcoholic Wine Trend

In the heart of Germany's Rheinhessen region, winemakers are making a splash with a new trend - non-alcoholic wines. One such winemaker, Daniel Mattern, is offering a unique product called NOLIMIT Riesling, which boasts a citrus freshness reminiscent of lime, grapefruit, and white peach.

St. Antony winery, another pioneer in this field, is set to launch a lemonade-based product called "Nein-Schorle" this fall. The winery also plans to release an alcohol-free Chardonnay-based lemonade with flavors of lemon, cassis, or yuzu.

The shift towards non-alcoholic wines is not just a fleeting fad for St. Antony's managing partner, Dirk Wurtz, who believes the wine world is undergoing a complete transformation. "People are wanting something different," he says, "and alcohol-free wine is a part of that change."

The Dr. Hinkel winery, another frontrunner in this movement, has seen a significant increase in sales of their alcohol-free wines. Currently, these account for 20 percent of their total sales, and they anticipate this figure to rise to half within the next five years.

Peter Hinkel, from the Dr. Hinkel winery, started exploring ways to improve the quality of alcohol-free wine five or six years ago. One of their innovative methods involves adding Verjus, the juice of unripe grapes, to their non-alcoholic wines.

Wine estates and cellars in Rheinhessen are not only producing non-alcoholic wines but also wine mixed drinks. The German Wine Institute has observed this trend, with more and more wine manufacturers producing wine mixed drinks, including in Rheinhessen.

Reh Kendermann, another winery in the region, has been offering classic wine spritzers in small bottles since 2020. This year, they introduced wine spritzers with bitter orange or limoncello flavor. Consumers, according to Reh Kendermann, are fond of products with little alcohol.

The growing popularity of alcohol-free wines is not just a local phenomenon. The Dr. Hinkel winery in Framersheim has observed an increasing trend in the "alcohol-free wine" segment. Four years ago, they started selling alcohol-free wine, and now, they offer alcohol-free carbonated Chardonnay that tastes like rooibos or black tea.

The change in consumer preferences comes as no surprise, given the decreasing consumption figures in the wine industry. However, winemakers in Rheinhessen see alcohol-free wines as a means to win new customers and counteract the downward trend in wine consumption.