Wine Innovation profile: Invivo

New Zealand winery Invivo has sought to rip-up the rulebook by creating a low-alcohol, low-calorie Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

Having recognised a growing demand for low-alcohol wines, Invivo set about utilising technology and winemaking expertise to plug what it perceived to be a gaping hole in the market.

The result is Bella, a 9% abv Sauvignon Blanc which has given the winery confidence that it can push the boundaries across other styles of wine. Bella has been entered into the drinks business’ Wine Innovation Awards.

“We have taken Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc – a classic wine that is the backbone of the NZ wine industry, and altered its normal structure to create a product that still has all the fruit and palate weight as a normal wine but has 30% less alcohol and 30% less calorific value,” said Invivo co-founder Tim Lightbourne.

“We have achieved this through a mix of technology and a fundamental change in viticultural and winemaking techniques in this wine’s management.

 
“To create a 9% abv Sauvignon Blanc throws up some challenges in making an explosively fruity wine while remaining balanced and not overly acidic and still with great texture and body.

“To do this we have selected a vineyard parcel that always produces ripe flavours and is on early ripening soils. We also completely changed the management of the canopy to allow more sunlight in the mornings and hence ripen the fruit without high sugar accumulation.

“This allows the fruit to ripen and express the terroir, but not become overly sugar ripe – and hence alcoholic.

“The fruit is harvested at night and interned in the winery under an ultra-protective regime excluding all oxygen contact and fermented using yeast that promotes ripe flavours.

“The wine is also given an intense period of battonage to help create the texture and body that is required in a lighter alcohol wine.”

The decision to produce the low-alcohol wine was based on Invivo’s belief that society is increasingly wary of the effects of alcohol on the body.

“We recognised the growing consumer and trade awareness of alcohol levels in wine and the negative impact of alcohol on society is frequently discussed in public forums,” said Lightbourne.

“Couple this with today’s busy lifestyles and strong themes of responsibility promoted around the enjoyment of alcohol – and the ever increasing taxation on it – and we feel that there is a niche in the market that could be effectively filled for a low alcohol/calorie wine that could be enjoyed at lunch time or after work without fear of having an effect on your ability to work or drive. We also see this wine working extremely well in the air – as the effects of consumption on planes is well known.”

Having successfully experimented with Sauvignon Blanc, Invivo is looking to push on and see what it can achieve by innovating with other wines.

Lightbourne said: “Wine is a product that lends itself to innovation as we have numerous varieties available to us and can grow and make these in countless different ways.

“The industry is constantly breaking the bounds using research and technology to understand flavours in wine and how they occur. So in essence we are constantly innovating each vintage, as the knowledge learnt last year is applied this year.

“We believe that trying new things each vintage, whether they be with style or new techniques, gives our consumers more choice in a market that one could describe often as being traditional or conservative.

“Our consumers are excited by new wines and these often become great talking points which are fantastic for awareness and brand equity.

“Our strategy is to work on at least one innovation project a year, some may not work, and hopefully some will.”

To enter the Wine Innovation Awards, visit www.wineinnovation.co.uk

Alan Lodge, 01.07.2010