See under non-alcoholic.
This term usually refers to alcoholic beverages (especially beer or wine) in which the natural alcohol content has been subsequently reduced or removed. A reduction of alcohol in wine is practised for various reasons. These are either a desired change for flavour reasons or the production of alcohol-free or low-alcohol wines. This can be achieved through various physical and/or chemical processes. It is particularly common in southern growing regions to produce wines that are more aromatic and less alcoholic. A non-alcoholic state is achieved through targeted alcohol reduction.
In chemical and wine law terms, the term "alcohol-free" does not mean completely without alcohol, but refers to beverages with an alcohol content of less than 0.5% vol. or less than 4 g/litre. The alcohol content of beverages of all kinds only has to be stated on the label from 1.2 % vol. For beer or de-alcoholised wine with less than 0.5% alcohol by volume, the term "alcohol-free" is therefore permitted, but only in conjunction with the indication "de-alcoholised".
Alcohol-free or alcohol-reduced products are often labelled...
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For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien