Glossary of non-alcoholic wine

A

Acetic acid: A volatile acid that smells of vinegar. Acetic acid bacteria make it, especially when oxygen is present. At high levels it feeds volatile acidity and is a main fault marker in conventional and dealcoholised wines alike.
Acetic acid bacteria: Spoilage microbes that turn ethanol into acetic acid and ethyl acetate. In alcohol-removed wines they can keep working because there is little ethanol to hold them back, especially if oxygen or sugar is around.
Alcohol-free / 0.0%: Alcohol-free and 0,0 % are shelf mentions for reduced-alcohol grapevine products, written for shoppers. Under Regulation (EU) 2026/471 (changes to Art. 119 of Reg. 1308/2013):
Antioxidants: Compounds such as sulfur dioxide that shield wine from oxidation and microbial spoilage. Without ethanol, that protection matters even more.
Aroma stripping: When dealcoholisation pulls out too many volatile aroma compounds (esters, higher alcohols, varietal notes) and they are not recovered or put back well, the fault is aroma stripping. On the nose the wine smells muted, f…
Astringency: A drying or puckering feel when tannins bind to proteins in the mouth. It shows up mainly on the gums and insides of the cheeks.

Band-Aid: A fault note usually tied to Brettanomyces: medicinal, plastic or antiseptic, like an adhesive bandage.
Brettanomyces (Brett): A spoilage yeast behind barnyard, horse-blanket, smoke, Band-Aid and medicinal notes. Uncommon in alcohol-removed wines, though it can ride in from the base wine or from poor sanitation.
Burning sensation: A sharp sting on the palate or in the throat, often from volatile acidity or other reactive compounds. It is not the same as alcohol heat.

Cloying: Too much sweetness without enough acidity or structure. The wine feels sticky or hangs on the palate instead of finishing clean.
Cork taint (TCA): A fault from 2,4,6-trichloroanisole: musty, mouldy smells and fruit that seems switched off. Natural cork is the usual source, but a cellar or packaging problem can do the same.
CO₂ (carbon dioxide): A gas from fermentation or from spoilage microbes. In still alcohol-removed wines, leftover fizz often means instability or incomplete degassing.

Dealcoholisation: Dealcoholisation removes ethanol from a wine that has already fermented. It is not arrested fermentation and not unfermented must: it starts from a finished wine and lowers its strength. In the EU the baseline is Regula…
Dealcoholised: Dealcoholised is the category / label term for wine from which alcohol has been removed after fermentation, as opposed to conventional wine and to partially dealcoholised wine. Under Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 it names t…
Dimethyl dicarbonate (Velcorin): Dosed in-line just before bottling, dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC; often traded as Velcorin) shuts down sensitive yeasts and bacteria. At a correct authorised dose it should not mark the wine’s taste.

Ethanol: Ethanol is the alcohol made in alcoholic fermentation. In conventional wine it builds body, helps aromas dissolve and lift, adds a hint of perceived sweetness and supports microbial stability. Dealcoholisation is, in es…
Ethyl acetate: An ester of ethanol and acetic acid. It smells sharp and solvent-like: nail polish remover or glue. It becomes a fault when it drowns the variety.

Fault: A sensory off-note that hurts quality and how people accept the wine. The cause can be chemical, microbial or structural.
Finish: What remains of flavour, texture or structure after you swallow. A long, clean finish signals balance; a short or bitter one can point to a fault.
Fizziness: Dissolved carbon dioxide in a wine meant to be still. It can mean microbial activity or a refermentation, and you may see, feel or hear it when the bottle is opened.

Glycerol: A natural fermentation by-product, glycerol (glycerine) adds viscosity and a sense of body. It is not ethanol: it does not intoxicate and it does not count as alcoholic strength. In dealcoholised wines, removing alcohol…

ISO glass: A standard tasting glass with a tulip bowl and a narrow rim that focuses aroma. Professionals use it because it is consistent and does not add its own smell.

Lactic acid bacteria: Bacteria that turn malic acid into lactic acid, or, under stress, make spoilage notes such as sour milk, yoghurt or diacetyl. They stay active in low-alcohol wines unless they are kept in check.

Mercaptans: Volatile sulfur compounds with harsh smells: garlic, rubber, skunk. They form in reductive conditions or when sulfur residues break down.
Mouthfeel: Mouthfeel is the tactile impression of the wine: weight, smoothness, astringency and texture.

Nose: The wine’s smell, judged in the olfactory part of a tasting. It covers primary (fruit), secondary (fermentation) and tertiary (ageing) notes.

Oenological tannins: Tannins from grapes, wood or other plants, added to tune texture, structure or stability. In alcohol-removed wines they often replace natural tannin lost or thinned during dealcoholisation.
Osmotic distillation: Wine and a strip agent (usually water) flow on either side of a microporous hydrophobic membrane, without high pressure. Liquid does not wet the pore; ethanol crosses as vapour and dissolves on the other side. The wine…

Palate: Everything felt while the wine is in the mouth: acidity, sweetness, body, tannin (in reds), flavour (accuracy, intensity, length), texture (watery or artificially thick) and overall balance.
Pasteurisation: A heat treatment that deactivates spoilage organisms. Done carelessly, it can change aroma or structure.

Redox balance: The balance between oxidation and reduction in wine. If it slips, especially in low-alcohol wines, sulfur faults or muted aromatics can follow.
Reductive: Notes that develop when wine is kept low in oxygen. In moderation: flint or struck match. In excess: rotten egg or rubber.
Reverse osmosis: Wine pushed against a dense semi-permeable filter (pores on the order of 0.1-1 nm) under pressure: that is reverse osmosis (RO). Ethanol leaves together with water as liquid (permeate). Acids, tannins and colour stay, i…

Spinning cone: The method is to evaporate ethanol at low pressure. The spinning cone (spinning cone column, SCC) is a platform for vacuum distillation, not a separate method: the geometry is a thin film over alternating fixed and spin…

Tactile: Physical sensations in the mouth: grip, weight, astringency or sparkle.
Tannin: Phenolic compounds from skins, seeds and stems that give structure and astringency, especially in reds.

Vacuum distillation: Pressure is lowered and the wine is warmed just enough for ethanol to leave as vapour. Aromas tend to leave with it: they must be captured and returned. That is vacuum distillation (vacuum evaporation): the method famil…
Viscosity agents: Additives such as glycerol, grape must, gum arabic or polysaccharides used to thicken body and texture in dealcoholised wine.
Volatile: Aroma compounds that evaporate easily and make up the wine’s smell: esters, aldehydes, volatile acids. Too much volatility can mean instability; too little leaves the wine muted.
Volatile acidity (VA): Volatile compounds, mainly acetic acid and ethyl acetate, that smell sour, vinegary or like solvent. At high levels they are a fault and can sting the palate.

Watery: A wine that feels diluted or thin, with little mid-palate weight or structure.