Non-alcoholic wines: evaluation of chemical profile and biological properties

The market of non-alcoholic wine has notably increased in recent years, driven by growing health awareness and regulatory trends aimed at reducing alcohol consumption. Various processes have been developed at different stages of winemaking to obtain products with a reduced alcohol content. With EU Regulation No 2117/2021, post-fermentative approached have been authorized to obtain wines with low or zero alcohol content. To date, only a few studies have investigated the impact of dealcoholization processes on chemical, sensory and biological profile of wines. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical characteristics, in vitro anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of four dealcoholized wines (red, white, white sparkling and rosè) available on the Italian market. Given that this market is still emerging in Italy, a panel test involving untrained students and academics (n=31) was conducted to gather preliminary data on consumer appreciation of dealcoholized wines. Chemical data revealed high levels of total acidity and a low sugar concentrations in dealcoholized wines compared with the alcoholic counterparts. The total phenolic content ranged between 318.77±5.80 mg GAE/L in red wine to 2737.53±34.52 mg GAE/L in white sparkling wine, and it was strongly associated with antioxidant capacity. In vitro assays assessing wine bioactivity in a model of gastric inflammation and oxidative stress showed that only the red wine inhibited NF-kB driven transcription induced by pro-inflammatory stimuli. Panel test indicated a generally positive reception of dealcoholized wines, particularly the white wine, especially among younger participants.