Alcohol-free bubbles

No. Since a decree of 1936, Champagne has been a recognised French designation of origin (AOC). The Comité Champagne, founded in 1941, has protecting that name worldwide as one of its core tasks. The specifications prescribe, among other things, a strictly delimited area, a second fermentation in the bottle and a minimum ageing of 15 months, or 36 months for a vintage.

On top of that comes the European rule: wines with a protected designation of origin may only be partially dealcoholised. A fully dealcoholised bottle falls outside the rules for protected designations and therefore may not carry the name champagne. Anyone looking for alcohol-free champagne ends up, in practice, with alcohol-free sparkling wine from other regions.

First ordinary wine is made, then the alcohol is removed. In 2012 the international wine organisation OIV laid down which separation techniques are permitted for this: partial vacuum evaporation, membrane techniques and distillation. Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 refers to the OIV resolutions for dealcoholisation.

The OIV sets conditions for it. Wine with a sensory defect may not be dealcoholised, removing alcohol may not go hand in hand with raising the sugar content in the corresponding must, and the process is supervised by an oenologist or specialised technician. How much alcohol is removed depends on the product category the maker has in mind.

At present the designation 'dealcoholised' applies to wine products with an actual alcoholic strength of no more than 0.5 percent. If the strength is above 0.5 percent but below the minimum of the original category, it is called 'partially dealcoholised'. This is laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/2117, which also amended the rules on protected names.

These terms are changing. Regulation (EU) 2026/471 of 24 February 2026 replaces them with ‘alcohol-free’ up to and including 0.5 percent, with the addition ‘0.0 %’ if the content does not exceed 0.05 percent. Above 0.5 percent a separate statement for reduced alcohol is introduced, if the content is at least 30 percent below the minimum of the original category. These labelling rules apply from 19 September 2027; bottles labelled earlier may be sold until stock runs out.

Not as a protected designation. Prosecco and cava are, like champagne, protected designations of origin. Under Regulation (EU) 2021/2117, such wines may only be partially dealcoholised, and the rules for protected designations do not apply to sparkling wine that has undergone full dealcoholisation. A bottle with 0.0 percent is therefore not prosecco or cava in the legal sense.

Labels therefore usually say 'sparkling' or 'alcohol-free sparkling', sometimes with the name of the house or the grape added. The Catalan house Vilarnau, for example, describes its 0.0 as a sparkling made from parellada and macabeo from Vilarnau d’Espiells’ own vineyards. A partially dealcoholised wine can, however, keep the protected name if the product specification of that designation allows it.

The shop currently has 5 bottles of alcohol-free sparkling wine, from Spain and France. From Spain come the Vilarnau Brut 0.0% and the Vilarnau Rosé 0.0%; the white is, according to the house, made from parellada and macabeo. Freixenet is represented with the Alcohol Free Sparkling Rosé. The Al Mercado Brut Blanco 0.0 De-Alcoholized Sparkling and the DIVIN Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc are also on the shelf. The exact alcohol content is on the label of every bottle; feel free to ask if you would like to know what a statement means.

Would you like to know what is on a label, or are you looking for something alcohol-free for a party or a toast? Feel free to call or drop by ’t Bockje at Brink 2 in Bathmen.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.