Henkell Freixenet installs aroma recovery system in Wiesbaden for premium alcohol-free sparkling wine

Henkell Freixenet is expanding its push into dealcoholized sparkling wine with a new aroma recovery system at its Wiesbaden plant, a move the German wine and spirits group says is meant to address one of the main quality problems in the category: the loss of aroma when alcohol is removed.

The company said on Wednesday that it will use the patented Aroma Recovery System developed by Solos Technology in the German facility, which serves as Henkell Freixenet’s competence center for dealcoholized production. The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. Henkell Freixenet said the installation is intended for the production of premium dealcoholized sparkling wines and is designed to help preserve the natural aroma and sensory identity of the base wines.

The announcement comes as producers across the wine industry try to improve the quality of no- and low-alcohol products, a segment that has grown quickly in recent years as more consumers look for alternatives to traditional alcoholic drinks. A central technical challenge has been that alcohol removal can also strip out volatile compounds that give wine much of its smell and flavor. As expectations rise, producers have been under pressure to find methods that keep varietal character, complexity, and texture closer to those of the original wine.

Henkell Freixenet, whose portfolio includes Henkell, Freixenet, Mionetto, Schloss Johannisberg, and Champagne Alfred Gratien, said the Wiesbaden project builds on more than 30 years of work in dealcoholized sparkling wine. The company said it has been refining its know-how over that period and now sees the category entering a more mature stage, where quality and authenticity matter as much as the absence of alcohol.

According to the two companies, the Solos system differs from conventional approaches because it does not treat the aromatic fraction separated during dealcoholization as waste. Instead, the wine is dealcoholized under vacuum at low temperature in a distillation column, a process intended to avoid heating the wine too aggressively. The separated distillate contains both alcohol and aroma compounds. Solos says that distillate is then passed through special resins in a solid-phase extraction process that captures the aromatic compounds while allowing the alcohol to be removed. The aromas are later reintroduced into the dealcoholized wine.

The goal, the companies said, is to rebuild the wine’s original aromatic profile without adding external flavorings or making corrective adjustments that could move the product away from the character of the source wine. Solos says the method is designed to retain what it calls the original aromatic signatures of the wine, allowing producers to make no- and low-alcohol wines, beers, and spirits that stay closer to the style of the alcoholic version.

Claudia Geyer, chief technology officer of Solos Technology, said the no- and low-alcohol category is now being defined less by alcohol removal alone and more by the ability to preserve the identity of the original wine. Eberhard Benz, chief technology officer and vice chairman of Henkell Freixenet’s management board, said the company’s aim is to recover and carefully reintegrate the wine’s natural aromas in order to better preserve authenticity, complexity, and distinctive character.

The Wiesbaden installation also reflects a broader shift in the market, where large producers are putting more emphasis on process technology as competition increases in alcohol-free wine. In the past, many dealcoholized wines struggled to convince regular wine drinkers because the final product often lacked depth and aromatic precision. That has made aroma management one of the most closely watched parts of production, especially in sparkling wine, where freshness and fragrance are central to consumer appeal.

For Henkell Freixenet, the new system is part of a strategy to move further into the premium end of the segment rather than compete only on the basis of offering an alcohol-free option. The company said the project combines its own enological experience with Solos Technology’s dealcoholization and aroma recovery methods. Industry producers have increasingly presented that kind of combination as necessary if dealcoholized wine is to win repeat buyers beyond consumers who are merely curious about the category.

The companies did not say when bottles made with the new system will reach the market or which brands will use the process first. They said the Wiesbaden plant will play a central role in applying the technology to next-generation dealcoholized sparkling wines as consumer demand continues to push the sector toward products that more closely resemble traditional wine in aroma, taste, and overall drinking experience.