Italian Supplier Develops Compact Machine to Remove Alcohol From Wine Before Service

Vasongroup, an Italian supplier of winemaking technology, is developing a compact wine dealcoholization machine aimed at restaurants and home users, a move that could extend alcohol reduction beyond wineries and into dining rooms and private kitchens.

The company, based in Verona, said the device is still being refined and could be ready by the end of the year. Its expected price is about 5,000 to 7,000 euros, placing it well above a typical household appliance but far below industrial wine processing systems.

The project comes as alcohol-free and low-alcohol wines continue to gain ground in parts of the global drinks market. Much of the recent investment in the category has focused on winery-scale production, where producers remove alcohol during the winemaking process and sell finished bottles through retail and restaurant channels. Vasongroup is trying to push that model further by allowing a bottle of conventional wine to be treated shortly before consumption.

Albano Vason, the group’s managing director, said the company began studying a smaller machine after years of work on industrial systems. He said Vasongroup has specialized in equipment for dealcoholization since 2012, when the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, known as the OIV, recognized the practice among official winemaking techniques within defined limits.

In recent months, the company presented a laboratory-scale unit designed to help wineries test low- and no-alcohol wines during product development. The new machine under development would take that same basic concept and scale it down for small commercial settings or private buyers.

According to the company, the process relies on membrane technology rather than heat. Wine flows along one side of hydrophobic microporous membranes, while water moves along the other side. Alcohol passes through the membrane in vapor form because of the concentration difference between the two sides. The company says the water and wine do not come into direct contact during the process.

Vasongroup says that approach helps preserve the wine’s aromatic profile because the liquid is not heated. That claim addresses one of the central concerns in the no- and low-alcohol category, where producers and consumers often worry that removing alcohol can also strip out body, aroma, and structure.

The machine would not work like a standard countertop dispenser. Vason said the user would first pour the wine into a carafe, then feed it into the device through a small tube and start the process. The time required would depend on how much alcohol the user wanted to remove. He said a standard bottle could take a few hours, with a shorter run for modest alcohol reduction and a longer one for wine pushed close to alcohol-free levels, such as below 0.05%.

One important limitation is precision. Vason said the compact model would not tell users the exact final alcohol level in the treated wine. Industrial systems can do that, but he said those machines can cost more than 100,000 euros, making that feature too expensive for a smaller device. Instead, the user would have to rely on tasting and stop the process when the wine reached the desired style.

That means the machine is being positioned as a flexible but not exact tool. A restaurant might use it to lower a 12% wine to something noticeably lighter, while a consumer at home might try to reduce a fuller wine from 14% to about 10%, but neither would have a precise numerical reading at the end.

The system is designed for still wines. Sparkling and semi-sparkling wines present a more difficult challenge because the membrane can also allow carbon dioxide to pass through, which would reduce or remove the bubbles. Vason said that makes the machine poorly suited to dealcoholizing traditional sparkling wines such as Trentodoc, Franciacorta, or Champagne. Spirits are also outside its intended use, and the company said beer would not be practical unless it were carbonated again afterward.

The restaurant market appears to be a major part of the company’s thinking. Vason said the machine could give bars and dining rooms a way to offer reduced-alcohol versions of regular wines without relying only on pre-packaged no- and low-alcohol labels. In theory, a guest who wants to drink wine with dinner but still drive home could ask for a lighter version of a conventional bottle or glass. For operators, that could create a new service category at a time when many hospitality businesses are looking for alternatives to traditional alcohol-heavy menus.

The company also sees a consumer market among wine drinkers who are not looking for complete abstinence but want more control. That group may include buyers who prefer the taste of wines originally made with alcohol but would like to reduce the strength before drinking. It could also include people curious about no- and low-alcohol products but not ready to switch to wines made specifically for that category.

That argument touches on a wider debate in the wine industry. Low- and no-alcohol products have become one of the most discussed growth areas in beverages, driven by health concerns, stricter attitudes toward drinking and driving, and changing habits among younger consumers. At the same time, many traditional wine producers remain skeptical, saying the products do not always deliver the same sensory quality and may confuse consumers about what wine is.

Climate is another factor behind the push. As grapes ripen earlier and sugar levels rise in many wine regions, finished wines can reach higher alcohol levels than some consumers want. Producers have spent years looking for vineyard and cellar techniques to manage that trend. A machine that can lower alcohol at the last stage, just before service, would offer a very different response, though one that may also provoke resistance from purists.

Vason framed the machine partly as a health-related tool and partly as a way to keep consumers engaged with wine. He argued that wine is often treated broadly in public discussions about alcohol, even though it differs from spirits in composition and drinking context. He also suggested that reducing alcohol without abandoning wine could help some consumers continue to participate in wine culture.

Whether that view gains traction will depend on more than engineering. The expected price means the first buyers are more likely to be restaurants, bars, wine-focused venues, or affluent consumers than the mass market. There is also the question of regulation and labeling if wine is altered after bottling and served in a commercial setting. In addition, many buyers may be reluctant to pay several thousand euros for a machine that cannot provide a precise final alcohol reading.

Still, the project shows how fast the no- and low-alcohol segment is evolving. What began as a niche category built mainly around factory-scale processing is now moving toward smaller and more direct forms of use. If Vasongroup brings the device to market on schedule, it could open a new front in the debate over how far technology should go in reshaping wine before it reaches the glass.