Report from the Front Lines of the Wine Business! – June 2026
No and low alcohol wine sales have surged 30-40% every year since 2020, coinciding with growing interest in wellness and a healthy lifestyle among all segments of the population, but in particular aging baby boomers. Bear in mind that the no-low sector, as it is now being called, remains a very small segment of the wine category. However, in this time, where traditional wine seems under attack on several fronts, this segment is attracting interest from companies big and small, traditional and not so much.
I’d like to share with you the story of how Laurel Glen Vineyard got involved in making no-low wines.
All dealcoholized wine starts as normal wine. If your goal is to make a wine without alcohol, you still begin with wine grapes and traditional winemaking. Only after the wine is complete do you remove one of its key ingredients: alcohol. That presents a challenge because alcohol contributes significantly to body, texture, mouthfeel, and structure. The question becomes: how do you remove the alcohol while preserving the character and enjoyment of the wine?
One of the earliest and still widely used methods is reverse osmosis, whereby the wine is forced through a very fine membrane that separates ethanol molecules from the rest of the wine components. Today, however, newer technologies have emerged. According to Bev-Zero, a company in Santa Rosa specializing in alcohol removal, Spinning Cone Column technology is considered one of the most advanced methods available. This process uses centrifugal force in a vacuum environment to gently separate aroma compounds, remove alcohol, and then reincorporate the aromas for maximum flavor retention.
In simple terms, the process uses fixed and rotating steel cones inside a column. The wine flows downward through the column and is spread into an ultra-thin layer across the surface of the spinning cones. This allows the alcohol to be removed at a low temperature, minimizing damage to the wine’s aromas and flavors.
My 1st brush with non-alcoholic wine was in 1990. I worked for my father back then as US Sales Manager for Blue Nun and Sichel German wines. The winery decided to launch a non-alcoholic wine using the relatively new technology of reverse osmosis. Although the product itself was not commercially successful, I remember being fascinated by the process and the possibilities it represented.
My second brush with non-alcoholic wine came in 2026. For several years, my business partners and the majority shareholders of Laurel Glen Vineyard, Rob Lovelace and Alicia Miñana, had been discussing the growing consumer interest in lower-alcohol wines. More and more wine consumers are seeking moderation without giving up the experience of enjoying wine with friends, family, or food. We also recognized that many Laurel Glen Vineyard wine club members and tasting room guests wanted options that would allow them to enjoy the wine tasting experience but still fulfill their obligations as designated driver, etc. We saw an opportunity to create reduced alcohol wines that still deliver the quality our customers expect from us.
Of course, we are a small winery, and producing high-quality wine from premium grapes is already an expensive endeavor. Taking that same high-quality wine, carefully removing the alcohol, and creating a product that remains satisfying and wine-like is even more costly. In 2026, Rob and Alicia offered to help finance a small experimental run, giving us the opportunity to explore the category seriously.
The result is Alcoba: a non-alcoholic and low-alcohol version of our Blanc Slate Sauvignon Blanc. The inaugural release, in June 2026: Alcoba Dealcoholized Sauvignon Blanc and Alcoba Low-Alcohol Sauvignon Blanc. While the category of no- and low-alcohol wines is still evolving, our goal from the outset was simple: create wines that people genuinely enjoy drinking.
Bev-Zero in Santa Rosa removed the alcohol using the advanced Spinning Cone Column technique. The inaugural 2025 vintage consists of just 27 cases of each wine. Interestingly, the process of removing alcohol also reduces the final volume of wine by roughly 25–30%.
What these technologies still cannot do perfectly is remove alcohol while delivering a wine that tastes exactly like the original. One of the most important factors in the quality of a dealcoholized wine is the quality of the original wine itself. The better the starting wine, the better the final result. The winemaker also plays a critical role in managing the process as carefully and sensitively as the creation of the original wine.
We are very fortunate at Laurel Glen Vineyard to have a supremely talented and experienced winemaker at the helm. Randall Watkins has delivered a product that has far surpassed any non-alcoholic wines any of us have tasted to date. The wines retain freshness, varietal character, and balance while offering a dramatically different alcohol profile.
So, to sum up, Laurel Glen Vineyard is launching two new products in June 2026 under the brand name Alcoba: Alcoba Dealcoholized Sauvignon Blanc and Alcoba Low-Alcohol Sauvignon Blanc. The inaugural release is extremely limited, with just 27 cases of each wine produced.
The fully dealcoholized Sauvignon Blanc contains approximately 20 calories per 5-ounce serving and less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. While lighter and leaner than the original Blanc Slate Sauvignon Blanc, it offers citrus and apple aromas, crisp flavors, and a light, pleasant finish.
The low-alcohol Sauvignon Blanc contains approximately 40 calories per 5-ounce serving and approximately 6.5% alcohol. Its aromas are somewhat more restrained than the dealcoholized version, but the palate is richer and more vibrant, with a longer and more satisfying finish.
Both wines are currently available to taste (and purchase) in the Laurel Glen Vineyard Tasting Room at 13750 Arnold Drive in Glen Ellen and online at www.laurelglen.com.
Bettina Sichel is a partner in Laurel Glen Vineyard. Bettina grew up in the wine business. She is the daughter of Peter M. F. Sichel, the man responsible for making his family’s Blue Nun wine a household name around the world. She is also the fifth generation of the Sichel family to work in the wine business – and the first woman!