Review of technological strategies to reduce alcohol levels in wines

Lower ethanol content wines are becoming an important style in the range of beverages offered for sale by many wineries as consumers become more attuned to societal attitudes that govern alcohol consumption. The removal of ethanol using various engineering solutions is an important approach for the production of beverages that are more acceptable for certain consumers. Common approaches for ethanol removal include the spinning cone column, reverse osmosis, osmotic distillation, nanofiltration and evaporative perstraction. Each approach has specific advantages and disadvantages and the best approach for ethanol removal from wine is largely determined by the required ethanol reduction, production volumes, capital and operating costs. This review highlights the important features of the commonly used processing techniques for removal of ethanol from wine.