Catena Zapata debuts verjus-driven no and low wine

The Argentine wine giant launches premium no and low alcohol wines using innovative verjus methods, as the country begins to open the door to dealcoholisation technology. The post Catena Zapata debuts verjus-driven no and low wine appeared first on The Drinks Business.

Apr 17, 2025 - 08:37

Catena Zapata debuts verjus-driven no and low wine

The Argentine wine giant launches premium no and low alcohol wines using innovative verjus methods, as the country begins to open the door to dealcoholisation technology. set of vineyards located in mendoza argentina, malbec following the launch of Catena Zapata's no and low alcohol wine launch

After two years of research, Catena Zapata is launching its first no and low alcohol wines, aiming for the premium market. Under the Domaine Elena de Mendoza label, the multi-generational winery in Argentina is introducing four products using an innovative verjus method to create no and low alcohol wines. The verjus, non-alcoholic juice made from unripe grapes, comes from premium Chardonnay grapes in the Uco Valley, Mendoza. “We did many experiments within the Catena Institute and travelled to see the latest technology in Europe,” says Agustin Silva, winemaker and team lead for the no and low wines at Catena Institute. Experiments included changing harvest times, working with unfermented must and verjus, as well as infusing different botanicals. “It was a lot of trial and error until we arrived at something that was delicious — that was always our objective: making something that tasted good.”

Trial, error and scale

Using high proportions of verjus yielded the most interesting and vinous results and was the main line of investigation for the team. However, scaling it was the biggest challenge. “Making verjus at a large scale was the biggest difficulty, and also finding the right harvest time for verjus.” Although the team harvested in January this year, they think they will most likely start harvesting in the previous calendar year, in December, for future productions. “Verjus gives us lower sugar levels, as well as lower calories,” Silva adds. Two of the drinks are made with verjus infused with botanicals and injected with gas to make 0% alcohol aromatic drinks. While the other two are 7% ABV, low alcohol wines that blend dry, low alcohol Chardonnay with verjus to create two elegant sparkling wines — Uco Mineral and Uco Stones — echoing the names of their super-premium Adrianna range. The fifth product in the collection has already launched in the USA and is a dealcoholised wine made in Spain with Airén grapes from La Mancha. The outsourcing to a Spanish production facility reflects the difficulty Argentine wine producers still face in accessing technology for dealcoholising wine.

Argentina’s slow uptake on no and low

Although Argentina's National Institute of Viticulture (INV) authorised the commercialisation of partially dealcoholized and dealcoholized wines in March 2024, there have been multiple barriers to entry for wineries looking to produce no- and low-alcohol wines using dealcoholisation technologies. Currently, no dealcoholised wines are being produced in Argentina, largely due to the barriers the INV imposed regarding permission for the technology to be implemented in commercial wines. One of South America’s leading winemaking technology companies, Gransud, has developed an innovative membrane technology that allows it to partially or completely dealcoholise wines. However, successful trials with Peñaflor and Trivento were not granted permission to go to market due to the INV’s inability to test the dealcoholised wines, a result of lacking machinery for differentiating dealcoholised wine from wine adulterated with water. “There was no system that was authorised and running in Argentina to take alcohol out of wine, which meant Argentina was missing the boat,” explains David Kingsbury, CEO of Gransud.

Green light

After much negotiation, this month the INV has granted a special permission for Gransud to use its membrane technology in collaboration with wineries for six months, with results to be audited by the INV — a move Gransud is hopeful will mark a nascent beginning for low or no alcohol wine products. Currently, any wineries in Argentina making dealcoholised 0% wines are sending the grape must abroad for dealcoholisation, mostly to Europe. This process disallows them the opportunity to put the country of origin on their labels. Meanwhile, some wineries are looking to experiment with vacuum distillation, as is being successfully implemented by the San Pedro group in Chile. Amanda Barnes MW is the drinks business´ regular South America correspondent and author of The South America Wine Guide.