Impact of ethanol removal on wine composition: Nero d’Avola as case study

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, climate change has increased the sugar content of grape must, leading to higher ethanol concentrations in wines. This trend contrasts with the rising consumer demand for low- or no-alcohol wines, a market segment that continues to grow. Several technologies exist to partially or fully remove ethanol from wine, including distillation, vacuum evaporation, and membrane-based methods. The impact of these techniques on wine composition, however, depends on the method employed, the extent of ethanol removal, and the intrinsic characteristics of the wine (1,2). Further research is needed to better understand how dealcoholisation affects different wine profiles as well as to clarify the evolution of wine that occur during wine storage. Nero d’Avola wines were collected from four different wineries after malolactic fermentation. These wines underwent dealcoholisation using a combined nanofiltration-reverse osmosis technology with ethanol reduction of -2 % and -4 % (v/v). The treated wines were bottled and stored at 15 ± 1°C up to 12 months. The wines were analysed for general chemical parameters, phenolic and volatile compounds. The results showed that a -2 % (v/v) ethanol removal caused moderate decreases in titratable acidity (up to -14 %) and tartaric acid (up to -6 %) after 12 months of storage. Likewise, a -4 % (v/v) removal led to losses up to -38 % and -67 % for titratable acidity and tartaric acid, respectively. A decrease of acetaldehyde was observed in most partly-dealcoholised wines after 12 months (up to -52 %) suggesting the limited occurrence of oxidation. With regards to phenolics, a lower content of both flavonoids and anthocyanins was observed in partly-dealcoholised wines, up to around -50 %. Nevertheless, two wines showed only minimal losses (up to -5 % for flavonoids and -24 % for anthocyanins), suggesting that the response to dealcoholisation may depend on wine-related characteristics. A decrease of these phenolics occurred during storage, even if to a lower extent. An overall decrease of the most sensitive aromatic compounds (e.g., β-ionone, linalool, geraniol) was observed because of ethanol removal even thought a wine-specific impact was observed on sensory profile. This research provides new insights into the effects of membrane-based dealcoholisation on Nero d’Avola wine, a grape variety not previously studied in this context, the best of our knowledge, and will serve to expand the dealcoholisation for white wine.

References

1. Sam, E.F.; Ma, T.; Liang, Y.; Qiang, W.; Atuna, A.R.; Amagloh, K.F.; Morata, A.; Han, S. (2021). Comparison between membrane and Thermal Dealcoholization Methods: Their Impact on the Chemical Parameters, volatile Composition, and Sensory Characteristics of wines. Membranes 2021, 11 (12), 957.
2. Kumar, Y.; Italiano, L.; Schmitt, M.; Bhor, S.; Kiene, F.; Ricci, A.; Parpinello, P.G.; Versari, A. (2026). Food Bioscience 77 (2026) 108343.