5 Great Low ABV, Low Intervention Wines

Many wine styles are naturally lower in alcohol-by-volume (ABV). Wines such as off-dry riesling, Lambrusco, Moscato d’Asti, or even Vinho Verde often have ABVs in the single digits. But in the wave of the low- and no-alcohol movement of the last several years, consumers have begun seeking even more lower-alcohol wine options among dry and/or still wines. “It is important to address the new demands of today's consumers with a lighter, fresher style and lower alcohol content,” says Rosana Lisa, Director of Innovation for Spain’s Bodegas Ramón Bilbao. “Creating new styles to respond to this new demand is key to continuing to break barriers in terms of innovation.”

How Low Alcohol Wines Are Made

Producers who offer lower alcohol wines (often marketed also as lower calorie wines) often rely on spinning cone technology, a process related to distillation, that removes part of the alcohol from otherwise normally fermented wine. (Look for the telltale words “proprietary process” on labels to reveal use of this technology.) This technology is also used to remove alcohol entirely for no-alcohol wines, or to course correct some wines whose ABVs start to push past 16% in certain regions due to climate change.

Other winemakers are turning to lower-intervention approaches, however, when it comes to crafting dry wines that express lower alcohol without utilizing this mechanized technology. “Early harvesting, for example, is a better approach because it is a product that originates from the vineyard,” says Lisa. “This creates an outcome that maintains the same matrix as wine without it being subjected to physical or mechanical conditions that alter its organoleptic qualities,” she says. “The essence of the wine is maintained, and there is less intervention than other kinds of processes for reducing alcohol.” Canopy management and fermentation techniques can also be tools for winemakers to limit alcohol in the finished wine without relying upon spinning cone technology.

For consumers, however, it can be difficult to distinguish between lower ABV options that utilize spinning cone technology for partial dealcoholization, and those that employ a more low-intervention, intentional winemaking approach. Here, we’ve rounded up five lower ABV wines from around the globe that reflect winemaking expertise and vineyard management rather than mechanical dealcoholization.

Low Alcohol, Low Intervention Wines

Ramón Bilbao Early Harvest: 11% ABV

Ramon Bilbao’s lower alcohol, white and rosé selections lead with “early harvest” rather than the promise of a lower alcohol content, but these wines nonetheless clock in at a modest 11% ABV, 2 to 3 percent lower than is common for these styles coming from Spain’s Rioja Alta and Rueda regions, respectively. As grapes are harvested early, no cold maceration is applied to the Verdejo expression, in order to not promote any aggressively green aromas. Both the white and rose early harvest wines have extended lees contact to give additional body to these fresh, lifted expressions.

Brigid by Forrest Wines: 9.5% ABV

Good news for New Zealand sauvignon blanc lovers who are seeking a lower ABV option. Forrest Wines, in Marlborough’s Wairau River Valley, offers lower ABV options — Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir both — under their “Brigid” label, named for the family’s matriarch. As one of the first wineries to put Marlborough on the map in the 1980s, Forrest Wines Brigid relies on canopy management rather than harvest date in order to restrict the vines’ ability to produce sugar. This allows for a typical timeline for other grape attributes to come to maturity, however, resulting in both grape and regional typicity for its sauvignon blanc and pinot noir expressions, with an especially modest alcohol content in the single digits.

VOGA Italian Prosecco DOC Still 10.5% ABV

Consider this a dual headline, as this is not only a dry, still wine that clocks in under 11% ABV, but it’s also non-sparkling prosecco, a style that is lesser known, but nonetheless recognized by the Prosecco DOC. VOGA’s Still prosecco is made with a blend of glera, the typical grape of Prosecco, with 5% sauvignon blanc. The base wines for various sparkling expressions typically rely on lower sugar, high-acid grapes, such as those that can otherwise be achieved by early harvest. In fact, sparkling wine is often the solution for wine regions around the world when difficult vintages produce grapes that are underdeveloped in sugar. While prosecco is already on the lighter side in ABV, it follows that still prosecco would land with even less alcohol since it won’t get a boost in ABV from any secondary fermentation process to create bubbles.

Domaine Finot Malbec: 11.2% ABV

While 11.2% ABV is not the lowest of low ABV options, it is if you consider the grape and the climate here, both of which are prone to producing big red wines that routinely top 14% in alcohol content. Matthieu Finot is the head winemaker at Virginia’s King Valley Vineyards, but Domaine Finot is his “garagiste” passion project where he practices not only organic and biodynamic farming techniques, but aims for as little intervention as possible: all wines are wild fermented from un-destemmed grapes, and utilize no sulfur. Malbec was a grape Finot inherited, and rather than give it a typical big red treatment he experimented not only with an early harvest date, but also with carbonic maceration in order to produce a malbec unlike any other: delicate, complex, and comparatively light on alcohol.

Domaine Bousquet LoCa: 9.5% ABV

Domaine Bousquet LoCa Chardonnay and Malbec

Dual-meaning LoCa is made by one of Argentina’s largest and best-selling organic producers, Domaine Bousquet. (“Loca” meaning “crazy” but also handily abbreviating “low calorie.”) The climate in the Uco Valley, with dry, high elevation vineyards, extreme diurnal shifts, and sandy loam soils make for aromatic grapes that can be thoughtfully selected among multiple sites for early harvest. Both chardonnay and malbec are picked from among Domaine Bousquet’s organic vineyards in January and February — nearly two months earlier than is typical for the region — in order to produce fresh, food-friendly wines that register below 10% ABV.