Ethanol
What it is
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 essence, removing it from a finished wine down to a target strength.
What shifts when it goes
Taking ethanol out does not leave “the same wine minus the number”. Structure shifts: higher risk of aroma stripping, less weight on the palate (hence glycerol and other texture work) and a friendlier environment for yeast and bacteria when residual strength is very low. That is why bottling controls such as dimethyl dicarbonate matter. Methods (Methods) differ in *how* they remove it (vacuum vapour, pressurised liquid, vapour across a hydrophobic membrane), not in “erasing the idea of ethanol”.
In tasting, alcohol’s “heat” or burn disappears; that can read as a plus or as missing support, depending on style. That is why ethanol, glycerol and stripping belong together in the glossary, not as isolated dictionary lines.
Residual strength after a run is an analytical result (often well below the legal band the label claims). The claim on the bottle still has to match the applicable EU mention; see the alcohol-free entry.
Label / EU note
Actual alcoholic strength by volume is the number that triggers shelf mentions under 2026/471 (e.g. ≤ 0.5 % “alcohol-free”; ≤ 0.05 % with “0,0 %”) and the 2021/2117 categories. See alcohol-free / 0.0% and law 2026. Not legal advice.