A global trend backed by science and market data is transforming the Spanish wine industry. NOLO wines — no/low alcohol — are leaving behind their niche status to become a strategic category with genuine international reach.
A phenomenon that can no longer be dismissed
For years, the mere mention of alcohol-free wine prompted an instinctive backlash from within the industry. In a trade built around the inseparable pairing of fermentation and alcohol, the idea of eliminating the very component that gives the product its name seemed almost a contradiction in terms. Yet by 2026, that scepticism has given way to an undeniable reality: NOLO wines — the acronym standing for ‘no alcohol / low alcohol’ — are recording some of the most consistent growth figures across the entire drinks category.
Data from the International Wine and Spirits Record (IWSR), the most widely referenced source in the global drinks industry, projects that volumes of alcohol-free products will grow by 36 per cent by 2029. In the specific segment of still wines with no or reduced alcohol content, the compound annual growth rate exceeded 20 per cent between 2021 and 2025, with volumes in the category projected to double over that period. Across the ten most significant markets in the world, the NOLO category as a whole is advancing at 8 per cent a year by volume. The global market for no- and low-alcohol products exceeded $11.8 billion in 2022, with projections pointing to a further $4 billion added by 2028.
In Spain — a country with one of the most deeply rooted wine cultures on the planet — the trend is making itself felt with considerable force. The Barcelona Wine Week 2026, one of the sector’s foremost international showcases, devoted an entire day to the NOLO category for the first time in its history, positioning it as ‘a new axis of business and sustainability’. The industry is beginning to understand that this segment does not compete with traditional wine; it complements it, and in many cases opens the category up to audiences that previously lay beyond its reach.
The science behind the empty glass: pioneering Spanish research
The market momentum has been accompanied, in Spain’s case, by a growing body of academic work that brings empirical rigour to what until recently was almost entirely uncharted research territory. The most significant study in this field is that produced by researchers José Luis del Campo Villares and Rosana Fuentes Fernánde, of the University of León — the first scientifically rigorous analysis of the dealcoholised wine market in Spain, examining perspectives from both consumers and producers.
The findings are revealing. According to the study, 78 per cent of those surveyed nationally would be willing to try an alcohol-free wine — a level of openness that far exceeds the sector’s initial expectations. The principal declared motivation is health, cited by 63 per cent of respondents as their primary reason; fashion comes a distant second at under 30 per cent, and sustainability barely registers at 3 per cent. This points to a conclusion of considerable strategic importance: the consumer of alcohol-free wine is not primarily seeking a hedonistic experience, but rather something that fits with their values and their broader life choices. Product quality — the conventional top priority across most consumer categories — comes in third place, subordinated to the health and wellbeing context.
The study also identifies with clarity the most receptive consumer profiles. Young people aged between 18 and 35 represent the most permeable segment, followed by the 36-to-55 age group. Those over 55, whose consumption habits are more entrenched and whose emotional attachment to traditional wine runs deeper, show greater resistance: fewer than 60 per cent of this group would be willing to try dealcoholised wines. On the question of gender, the role of women emerges as particularly significant: across every age bracket, women show a greater willingness to drink alcohol-free wines than men. Some 84 per cent of female respondents expressed interest in trying them, and 74 per cent indicated they would consider incorporating them into their regular habits. Among women aged 18 to 35, 88 per cent cite health as their primary motivation.
Researchers concludes that the success of this segment depends on the interaction of three factors: health, youth, and gender. None is sufficient on its own; but together they create fertile ground for a stable market. ‘We are witnessing an evolution in consumer perception,’ notes. ‘A growing number of people understand that dealcoholised wine is not a substitute, but a complementary option, adapted to different occasions and lifestyles.’
The technological challenge: removing the alcohol without destroying the wine
Even as demand advances, the principal bottleneck for the segment’s expansion remains technological and sensory in nature. Stripping alcohol from a wine without altering its aromatic profile and organoleptic structure is an oenological challenge of the first order, and scientific evidence gathered by Spanish researchers reveals that not all available techniques are equally effective.
A study published in BIO Web of Conferences and carried out jointly by Bodega Win — a subsidiary of Bodega Matarromera in Valbuena de Duero, Valladolid — and the LAAE and CREG research groups at the University of Zaragoza addresses this problem directly within the framework of the Alcoholess project. The work compares various dealcoholisation techniques: osmotic distillation, pervaporation, and reverse osmosis. Results show that the first two involve a significant loss of aromatic compounds as alcohol content is reduced. Reverse osmosis, by contrast, emerges as the most suitable technique for partial dealcoholisation — reductions of up to one degree of alcohol — as it allows the aromatic composition to remain virtually unchanged.
For complete dealcoholisation, the Spinning Cone Column (SCC) technique makes it possible to preserve the varietal character of a wine, provided that the process parameters are correctly optimised. The study also reveals a relevant sensory hierarchy: the expert tasting panel gave positive assessments to all dealcoholised commercial wines analysed, but white wines consistently scored higher than reds. The explanation is technical: the structure of red wines depends more heavily on alcohol for their gustatory coherence, meaning that its removal produces a more perceptible sensory imbalance. This finding has direct implications for wineries’ product strategies: white wines represent the most promising entry point for winning over sceptical consumers.
The study further confirms that the wines produced by Bodega Win contain significantly less residual sugar than other dealcoholised commercial products on the market, and that their organoleptic profile is rated above average compared with other SCC-produced wines from rival producers. A conclusion that underlines the importance of investment in research and development as a key competitive differentiator in a segment still very much in its formative phase.
The Spanish wineries that led the way
Spain has not arrived late to this trend. Some of the country’s most forward-thinking wineries have been exploring this territory for more than fifteen years. Bodega Emina — part of the Matarromera group in Valbuena de Duero — and Familia Torres in the Penedès began their first research into dealcoholised wines back in 2008, later joined by Martín Códax from the Rías Baixas. More recently, other leading names such as Gil Family Estates have developed their own dedicated ranges. Commercial labels including Natureo (Torres), Win Sin, and Disfrutando 0,0 already account for between 5 and 10 per cent of their respective producers’ total output, with a strong emphasis on export markets as the primary route to market.
The Federación Española del Vino (FEV) has underscored that alcohol-free wines find their greatest commercial opportunity in overseas markets. Northern Europe — the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Nordic countries — along with the United States, leads global demand for NOLO products, offering Spanish wineries fertile ground to position themselves as innovation leaders. In the UK, Germany, and France, the segment has been growing steadily for several years and already represents a significant share of those countries’ wine export revenues. Spain starts from a position of genuine advantage: its diversity of indigenous grape varieties, its long export track record, and its well-established production infrastructure are assets that are difficult to replicate.
The new European regulations, which for the first time permit fully or partially dealcoholised products to be labelled as ‘wine’ — something that was not previously allowed — also open up a more favourable regulatory horizon for marketing these products both at home and abroad. The European Parliament debated and voted on specific measures in February 2026 under the so-called ‘Wine Package’, including the harmonisation of labelling rules for these products — a step the sector had been calling for over an extended period.
Consumer perception: the hardest barrier to break down
For all that, the greatest challenge to the segment’s consolidation is neither technological nor regulatory, but perceptual. Wine Intelligence has consistently documented that quality perceptions of low- and no-alcohol wines remain below those of conventional wine, even as the products themselves have improved substantially in recent years. The memory of disappointing early experiences — thin, structureless wines with off-putting flavours — tends to linger in consumers’ minds far longer than positive ones. Compounding this is a pricing paradox: consumers expect to pay less for an alcohol-free wine than for its traditional counterpart, yet production costs are in fact higher, since the dealcoholisation process requires expensive equipment and additional time.
Wine’s deep emotional connection to Spanish culture — family tradition, celebration, territorial identity — has historically made it harder for alcohol-free versions to gain acceptance, with some consumers continuing to regard them as second-rate products. However, the researchers from the University of León points to the beer industry as a model for what can happen: ‘Twenty years ago, nobody could have imagined that alcohol-free beers would lead the sales charts; the same process is now under way with wine.’ The parallel is not arbitrary: it took 0.0 per cent beer a generation to become normalised; dealcoholised wine could travel that same road in considerably less time, driven by the broader social context and continued improvements in production technology.
According to the FEV, partially or fully dealcoholised wines are perceived by their regular consumers as healthier and lower in calories, and generate a sense of control — the ability to drive without restriction, the absence of a hangover — that conventional wine simply cannot offer. These are powerful arguments, particularly for a generation that places autonomy and personal wellbeing at the very centre of its consumption decisions.
A strategic category for the future of the sector
By 2026, the NOLO segment has ceased to be a niche curiosity and become a strategic pillar that the Spanish wine industry can no longer afford to overlook. Growth projections, scientific support for production techniques, consumer studies documenting increasing openness — particularly among younger people and women — and the European regulatory impetus together create a landscape of opportunity that the most agile wineries are already beginning to exploit.
The challenge, as researchers notes, is threefold: improving consumer education about how these wines are made and what distinguishes them from soft drinks or fruit juices; strengthening the communication of their health benefits with rigour and transparency; and continuing to invest in research and development to close the sensory gap that still separates the best alcohol-free wine from its conventional benchmark. Spain has all the ingredients needed to lead that transformation. All it requires is the collective will to back it.
Sobrelías Redacción
Sobrelías Redacción