Taking the alcohol out. Science, history and taste in the Rheingau.

A category on the rise

Jamie sets the scene: wine has been a social drink for thousands of years, partly because of its alcohol. Yet more people now want low or no-alcohol options, whether for health, for driving or for other reasons. He wants to understand the science of making them, and whether the results deserve a place at the table.

The Rheingau is a fitting place to look. It is home to a world-famous research university, to the winery that pioneered alcohol removal more than a century ago, and to a historic estate now experimenting with the category itself. Over one episode, Jamie moves from lab bench to distillation column to monastery cellar, tasting at every stop.

Geisenheim and Dr. Matthias Schmidt

At Geisenheim, one of the world's great wine research institutions, Jamie meets Dr. Matthias Schmidt, a specialist in alcohol reduction. Matthias explains that alcohol-free wine starts as normally fermented wine, which is where the complexity comes from. The alcohol is then usually removed by vacuum distillation at around 30 to 40 degrees Celsius in less than a minute, leaving a spirit fraction as a by-product.

The tasting that follows is one of the most revealing moments in the series. Jamie tries an original Rheingau Riesling, its dealcoholized version and the spirit fraction on its own, and discovers how much alcohol contributes: body, a sense of sweetness, warmth, and a softening of acidity and bitterness. Without it, aromas escape more easily, which can unmask green notes as well as fruit.

Fixing what is lost

Matthias explains why aromatic grapes such as Riesling and Muscat varieties make better candidates than neutral whites or big, heavy reds. Producers often add sweetness to replace what the alcohol gave, and carbonation is a promising tool: it brings back a sense of fullness, liveliness and aroma. Jamie also tries adding some of the spirit back to the dealcoholized wine and learns why that does not work quickly.

They also discuss partial dealcoholization as a response to climate change, letting growers pick fully ripe grapes and then trim a percent or two of alcohol. Matthias makes the point that this is careful, costly processing, not a route to cheap wine.

The family that started it all

In Rüdesheim, Jamie visits Carl Jung, a large winery that makes no wine of its own but receives base wines from across Europe and removes their alcohol. The family tells how a doctor's ban on a client's drinking inspired the idea, and how Dr. Carl Jung, after reading about water boiling at lower temperatures in the Himalayas, added a vacuum pump to his still. He took out his first patent in 1908.

Jamie learns how the column works, why the volatile aromas are captured first and returned later, why the finished wine is fragile, and why careful cold bottling matters. They also talk about whether premium alcohol-free wine could one day command serious prices.

A monastery and a mindful wine

The final stop is Kloster Eberbach, a former monastery with some 900 years of winemaking. Its winemaker has made an alcohol-free wine with Carl Jung from aromatic fungus-resistant varieties, including Muscaris, chosen because the process strips some flavor. Jamie tastes it beside the version with alcohol, paying close attention to body, fruit and aromatics, the very things Matthias warned can change most.

So is alcohol-free wine a fad or the start of something big? Watch the episode to see what Jamie finds in the glass and hear his verdict.

Go furtherTo explore the estates, vineyards and wines of the Rheingau and Germany further, the wein.plus wine guide is a great resource.