Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates unveils new $15m ‘NOLO’ facility in Barossa Valley

Anyone for a mid-strength Shiraz, mango Rosé or passionfruit prosecco? The owner of wine icon Penfolds has launched a new range of no and low-alcohol wine made out of the Barossa.

Anyone for a mid-strength Shiraz or passionfruit Prosecco?

Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates is set to release a new range of no and low-alcohol (NOLO) wine varieties to tap into health-conscious drinkers following the unveiling of a new $15m NOLO production facility in the Barossa Valley.

With alcohol consumption on the decline globally, and younger wine drinkers moving away from the classic heavy reds, TWE is among a growing number of wine companies making a push into the NOLO category.

On Tuesday the company unveiled a new $15m facility dedicated to NOLO wine production at its Barossa Valley winery in South Australia, where it has installed state-of-the-art de-alcoholisation equipment and its own customised technology designed to retain the aromatic, body and ‘mouthfeel’ components of wine that can be lost in conventional de-alcoholisation processes.

The facility has been two years in the making and is already producing the next generation of NOLO wines for TWE brands including Squealing Pig and Pepperjack.

And in October TWE will launch its new Sorbet brand, which blends traditional varieties like Prosecco, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz with fruit and berry flavours such as passionfruit, mango and lemon.

Treasury Wine Estates wine process technologist Mick Hage and winemaker Toby Barlow at the new no and low-alcohol wine production facility in the Barossa Valley. Picture: Supplied

With an alcohol content of just 8 per cent, the Sorbet range is the latest move by TWE to attract younger drinkers looking for no and low alcohol alternatives to traditional red wine varieties.

TWE general manager of sales and marketing Sarah Parkes said the expansion of the company’s no and low alcohol range reflected the growing popularity of the category, and the new de-alcoholisation process overcame many of the flavour challenges associated with conventional processes.

“Flavour has historically been a barrier for wine drinkers exploring a no or low alcohol alternative – this technology has helped us solve the flavour puzzle, and it’s had outstanding feedback from consumers so far,” she said.

The owners of Penfolds will move into no and low alcohol wines.

“With award-winning low and no alcohol wines already under our belt, we’re looking forward to sharing this next generation of great-tasting wines with consumers from next month.”

According to International Wine & Spirits Research, the NOLO wine category across 10 key global markets is expected to grow by an additional $US4bn ($6.1bn) by 2028. The research centre says per capita alcohol consumption is down 20 per cent from 2000 levels.

TWE’s Sorbet range will be available from October in a partnership with Dan Murphy’s and BWS owner Endeavour Group.

TWE’s push into the NOLO category comes as local winemakers desperately search for solutions to the huge glut that’s emerged after a three-year trade stand-off with China, and amid a general decline in red wine consumption globally.

Wine consumption globally is at its lowest levels since 1961, with red wine – historically a strong variety for Australia – feeling the brunt. Peak body Australian Grape & Wine estimates the oversupply of red wine in Australia sits at 330 million litres, labelling it an “unprecedented oversupply crisis.”

On Monday Darren De Bortoli of De Bortoli Wines described the industry conditions as a “disaster” that had forced his family to rip out vines at its properties in the Riverina and at Rutherglen in north-eastern Victoria.

Originally published as Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates unveils new $15m ‘NOLO’ facility in Barossa Valley