 During his short visit to India in May this year Miguel Torres, the patriarch of the family run winery had said that they were very keen to introduce Natureo, which has only 0.5% alcohol, by the end of July.
Miguel Torres says that the wine fulfils the needs of those who did not want to drink alcohol, but still wanted to enjoy the taste of wine. Drivers, pregnant women, lactating mothers and people who love to have a drink but cannot, due to medical grounds would greatly benefit from this wine.
Natureo has 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume and is slightly sweet with 30 gm of sugar per litre (a dry wine usually has 1-5 gms/liter). However, the sweetness of the wine is balanced with acidity. ‘This wine will be positioned as low calorie, low alcohol wine, preferably in vegetarian restaurants and especially for the women,” says Marc Perello, the Brand Ambassador of Torres and Vice President, Prestige Wines and Spirits, based in Mumbai.
According to Delhi-based Sumit Sehgal, Chief General Manager, ‘There is a certain amount of social stigma and taboo related to wine consumption in India because people believe it is an alcoholic drink. We hope to change this notion with Natureo’.
The Launch is planned for Delhi and Mumbai in the first phase- to be priced at around Rs. 1,150 according to Sumit.
Natureo was launched in Spain last August by Torres and was the first alcohol free wine in Europe. The pioneer and world leader in this category is Sutter Home in California which has been making similar wine in 7 variants including two bubblies and a white Zinfandel (Blush wine) for several years and has priced it at a very affordable price of $4-5.
It may not be technically correct to call it an alcohol free wine, though. Based on Moscato grapes, known for making low alcohol and sweet dessert wine, it follows the classical white wine making techniques with fermentation carried out in stainless steel tanks at low temperatures to get an aromatic wine. Then, using a technique called ‘Rotating Cone Column’ alcohol is extracted and separated out with a nominal amount left over as residue.
 Pale yellow and clear, the wine is rich with fresh floral aromas of green apples, peaches and citrus and it fresh and crisp on the palate. Served at 6-8º C, it is a delicious table wine which the novices and people with problem with alcohol for any reason, can enjoy. It is a young wine and must be drunk within a year of production- something the importer should keep in mind. It can be quaffed as an aperitif at banquets, picnics and especially with vegetarian food specially pulao and risotto.
Subhash Arora
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For a related article on low alcohol wine click http://www.indianwineacademy.com/item_2_215.aspx |