Every bottle here started life as an ordinary, fully fermented wine. The alcohol was taken back out afterwards, not left out from the start, which is why the better examples still taste recognisably like wine rather than grape juice.
How the alcohol comes out
Vacuum distillation lowers the pressure inside the still, which drops ethanol's boiling point well below the temperature that would cook off delicate aromatics. Reverse osmosis pushes the wine through a membrane fine enough to separate alcohol and water, then adds water back to restore volume. The spinning cone column, a two-pass version of vacuum distillation, strips the aroma compounds first, removes the alcohol, then reunites the aromas with the dealcoholised base, and it is generally reckoned the gentlest of the three on flavour.
What to expect in the glass
Alcohol carries weight and warmth in wine, so removing it leaves a lighter-bodied drink, and any sweetness left behind reads more plainly without that warmth to balance it. Aromatic whites, rosé and sparkling styles tend to dealcoholise more successfully than big, tannic reds, since alcohol does real structural work in binding tannin. Serve it well chilled and drink it soon after opening, the same as you would a white wine at this weight.
FAQ
Is it completely alcohol-free?
Usually under 0.5% ABV, the threshold most markets use for an alcohol-free label, rather than literally zero.
Does it taste like the original wine?
Closer than it used to, especially with spinning cone technology, but it remains a different drink: aroma survives better than body or the warmth alcohol gives a red wine.
Which styles work best?
Aromatic, lighter styles generally outperform full-bodied reds. If you are new to the category, start with a dealcoholised sparkling or an aromatic white before trying a red.