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Good news for wine-loving shoppers who can still enjoy a drink while not needing to worry about drinking and driving. Bad news, however, for a number of farmers who have reacted angrily to the plan, says the newspaper Le Matin.

Alcohol-free wine

  
Offered in red, white and rosé versions, the wines have in fact been produced in France since 1988 by a cooperative named 'Bonne Nouvelle' (which, coincidentally, means 'good news'). It is being introduced by Migros, the leading Swiss supermarket chain, on a trial basis and, if the trial proves successful, will be rolled out nationally in 2006. Traditional vineyard owners, however, may not be numerous among its customer base.

"I haven't tasted it, but it doesn't sound too good", one farmer from Chouilly tells Le Matin. Another, Luc Massy, says he doesn't really see the sense in making wine without alcohol, unless it is perhaps meant to have some therapeutic effect. Alcohol, he says, supportd the wine's bouquet. Without it, the drink is stripped of its substance

Some have responded to the development with amusement. "This new product makes us smile a little", says one, Roger Burgdorfer from Domaine du Paradis, "but it really doesn't have much to do with us. Wine reflects the soul of the farmer, it's a way of living. Without alcohol, this drink, which does not merit the name of 'wine', is nothing more than a sort of fruit juice".

Others, however, have reacted more strongly. Wine taster Christophe Venetz, says Le Matin, is categorical about the matter. "This type of product is more than neutral, it's completely depersonalised", he tells the newspaper. "Genuine wine has a character, it releases emotions. This is all about the globalisation of taste. I would even say that Migros is 'coca-colaising' wine. By taking the alcohol out of the wine, you're castrating it, definitively! What's more, the process of making wine without alcohol is relatively expensive and this does not, as a consequence, make it comparable or competitive with simple fruit juice".

Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in French, on the Le Matin website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Migros.