McGuigan launches de-alcoholised wine range at M&S

McGuigan Wines has launched a new range of de-alcoholised wines at Marks & Spencer called Delight, featuring a rosé and moscato, tapping into a growing trend for low alcohol wines.

The Delight Moscato is described as a “sweet wine with citrus and perfume notes and a gentle spritz”, while the Delight Rosé is “lightly spritzed” with flavours of “forest fruits, rose petals and a lingering ripe red cherry finish”.

“At McGuigan we are committed to producing high quality wines for all consumers, and that extends to those with an appetite for low-alcohol varieties,” said chief winemaker, Neil McGuigan. “We’re delighted to be introducing our first low-alcohol range into M&S and believe that the Delight wines will fill a gap in the UK market for those consumers seeking premium versions of this increasingly popular style of wine.”

Both wines carry an abv of 0.4%, having been de-alcoholised at the producer’s winery in Australia, with alcohol removed after a wine has been fermented and matured.

Methods of de-alcoholising include vacuum distillation, when a wine is warmed in a vacuum to evaporate alcohol at temperatures below 30 degrees celsius, or by reverse osmosis, when a wine’s phenolic components are filtered and the alcohol removed through distillation.

Retailers such as Tesco, Lidl and Aldi have upped their focus on the low alcohol sector recently, having launched their own low alcohol wine range, while brewing giants Heineken, AB InBev and Carlsberg have been developing their non-alcohol offerings to meet a growing demand for low alcohol alternatives.

McGuigan Delight Moscato and Rosé will be available to buy from M&S from this month, with an RRP of £5.