Spinning cone
The established two-pass still: aroma first, alcohol second, over fixed and spinning cones.
- Volume loss
- About 25%
- Final ABV
- As low as <0.5%
- 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 still the commercial workhorse for no-alcohol wine. ConeTech built it in the late twentieth century, and a lot of large-scale dealcoholization still sits on that design.
How it runs
Two vacuum passes. The first lifts and condenses volatiles; the second takes the alcohol. Wine runs over stationary cones (gravity) and spinning cones (centrifugal force), so there is more surface and vapour comes off at a milder heat.
The essence is condensed and put back after ethanol has gone, so the nose is not left blank.
It is gentler than boiling at atmospheric pressure, but not harmless: fragile whites can still lose flavour or pick up a hint of browning. The two steps add plant complexity, and more volume is lost than with newer kit.