Dealcoholisation methods Vacuum distillation
PlatformSpinning cone
Two-pass vacuum distillation over fixed and spinning cones. A platform for the method, not a method of its own.
- 1 Pass 1 At about 28 °C the volatiles (essence) leave.
- 2 Pass 2 At about 38 °C the ethanol leaves.
- 3 Put-back The essence from pass one goes back into the wine.
| Driving force | Vacuum and mild heat |
|---|---|
| What leaves | Aromas first, then ethanol, both as vapour |
| What happens to water | Volume leaves with the vapour; the essence comes back |
| Heat | About 28 °C, then 38 °C |
| Type | Platform Part of Vacuum distillation |
|---|---|
| Developer | Flavourtech, from CSIRO work; ConeTech / BevZero run it as a service |
| Volume loss | Attributed range ~20–25% on two passes |
| Final ABV | Catalogue ≤0.5%; plant runs often ~0.05% |
| Wines known to use it | Torres Natureo and WIN (Spain), Fre and Luminara (California), Giesen (New Zealand) |
| Best for | Wineries that want a known, scalable way to pull a broad aroma fraction back. |
What it is
The spinning cone column (SCC) is a vacuum-distillation platform, not a method of its own. The method is taking ethanol off under reduced pressure; the cone is the geometry that does it: a thin film over alternating fixed and rotating cones. It is the commercial workhorse for no-alcohol wine.
The mechanical idea dates to a 1930s column built to separate oxygen isotopes. Dr Don Casimir, at CSIRO’s Division of Food Research in Australia, adapted it to recover aroma from fruit juices. Flavourtech, founded in Griffith, New South Wales, in 1986, scaled it: first to strip SO₂ from grape juice, then to adjust alcohol in wine. ConeTech, founded in California in 1991 and now part of BevZero, did not design the column: it is a toll processor that runs it. Flavourtech remains the main manufacturer and has sold units in more than 60 countries.
How it runs
A vertical stainless-steel column with alternating stationary and rotating cones. Wine runs down the stationary ones under gravity and up the spinning ones under centrifugal force, in thin films: far more surface exposed to the vacuum, and vapour coming off at a milder heat.
Two passes. The first, at low vacuum pressure (around 0.04 atm) and roughly 28 °C, lifts and condenses the volatiles, leaving a dearomatised but still alcoholic wine. The second, at slightly deeper vacuum and about 38 °C, takes the alcohol. The essence from stage one is blended back into the finished wine, so the nose is not left blank.
Upsides and limits
It is gentler than boiling at atmospheric pressure, but not harmless. Independent research cited by wine scientist Carien Coetzee notes that significant aroma losses can still happen, especially on the alcohol pass, and that fragile whites can show flavour loss or a hint of browning. The two stages add plant complexity, and in the range usually attributed to two-pass cone (~20–25%) more volume goes than with single-pass kit.
GoLo and ClearAlc are other readings of the same method (vacuum distillation), not “versions of the cone”. They run packed columns with no spinning parts.
Wines that use it
Torres Natureo was the first Spanish dealcoholised wine, in 2008, out of research led by Mireia Torres at Familia Torres; the house runs spinning cone under vacuum at low temperature, with steam raised from the wine itself.
WIN, from Bodega Win at Valbuena de Duero, fully dealcoholises Matarromera wines (Verdejo and Tempranillo out of Rueda, Toro and Ribera del Duero) on spinning cone with its own patented method. For a cut of one or two degrees it uses reverse osmosis: the two families are not mutually exclusive.
Fre, from Sutter Home (Trinchero Family Estates), is one of the longest-running no-alcohol brands in the US market and uses spinning cone across its still and sparkling range. Luminara, also Trinchero and sourced from Napa Valley fruit, is positioned as a premium line with barrel ageing on the same process.
Giesen, the New Zealand producer behind the world’s best-known 0% Sauvignon Blanc, runs its own SCC in house and is described across the trade as a world leader in applying spinning cone to wine.