Australian no alcohol wine producer, Edenvale, has invested $5 million into a new processing facility, featuring cutting-edge dealcoholisation technology created in partnership with BevZero and Logichem.
Founded in 2006 by Michael Bright, Edenvale was the first Australian-owned, dedicated alcohol-removed winery in the industry, using a custom-modified spinning cone column that removed alcohol from traditional wines while retaining varietal specific tastes and aromas.
Over 30 per cent of Australian consumers are now opting for alcohol-removed products, and the company has seen global success, recently receiving the Best Wine trophy at the 2024 World Alcohol-Free Awards in London, for its Premium Reserve Sparkling Shiraz.
“We’re now at a point where alcohol-removed wine shouldn’t be compared to its traditional wine counterpart; it needs to be viewed and valued as its own category, as so many people are choosing non-alcoholic wine as their preferred beverage due to personal tastes and lifestyle choices,” said Bright.
“With this in mind, we’ll continue to research, trial and push the boundaries when it comes to crafting alcohol-removed wines that consumers love and trust – our commitment to continual quality improvement, innovation and sustainability, now enhanced by this new technology, will set a new standard in our industry.”
Edenvale’s new facility is located in the Murray-Darling region and commenced operations in early June. The company states that it is a world-first in sustainable winemaking, and will vastly improve production and environmental efficiencies.
The facility incorporates GoLo 2200 technology, which Edenvale states is the first in the world to be powered by a direct heat-pump system. The pump performs heating and cooling duties at the same time, meaning the energy required for dealcoholisation is reduced by half.
Food & Drink Business journalist, Keira Joyce, sat down with Edenvale’s winemaker, Aaron Milne, to learn more about the facility.
How did the relationship with BevZero and Logichem come about – was it longstanding, or a new partnership?
The relationship with Bev Zero came about when we released our award winning Spanish expedition series. We used the Bev Zero facility in Villatobas and began discussions on a new piece of equipment that had been developed by Logichem out of South Africa, called the GoLo.
Of course, with Edenvale having been in the industry for so long, we had met with BevZero before on multiple occasions (formerly Conetech), but this is when we first worked together and began early discussions, dreaming of our new facility.
How does the GoLo 2200 technology achieve what it does?
Previous technologies use steam generated from an LPG gas boiler to warm the wine, and then a cooling tower and refrigeration system to cool it down again.
Instead of using steam generated by a gas boiler, the GoLo uses heat pumps, powered from the electricity grid. These heat pumps provide both heating and cooling duties in one process. Just like the way your refrigerator works, cooling the inside of the fridge, while pumping hot air out the back.
It’s essentially the same thing that we’re doing – it's like a refrigeration plant, but we use both the heating to warm the wine and the cooling to condense the alcohol. This way we can save a tremendous amount of energy, as improving the sustainability of our products and reducing our overall carbon footprint is a major focus of our business.
Is the technology new?
The GoLo is quite new, being specifically designed for dealcoholisation, and handling multiple processes (essence removal, alcohol removal and spirit concentration) in one pass. The spinning cone was really a flavour extraction device that was adapted for the purpose of dealcoholisation. It worked very well but required four operations to achieve what the GoLo does in one.
Regarding the heat pump technology, it’s not really new. The basic technology has been around since the early 1800s!
Obviously, it has come a long way, and in this case, it is the application of the technology that is new and innovative. Combining the GoLo with the heat pump is a world-first.
Hopefully without getting too technical, the cooling energy from the expansion of the refrigerant is being applied directly to the GoLo. That is what makes this special.
In previous applications there were heating and cooling ‘mediums’ like coolants, that pumped around between a heat pump and the equipment, even this method was quite new and innovative. Having a ‘direct’ exchange eliminates another step that causes some energy loss, taking the application to the next level.
What is the output using this system?
We normally rate the equipment on the input, being 2200L/hr. Then the volume that we receive on the other side will be dependent on the alcohol of the wine going in – for lower alcohol wines we have a higher flow rate coming out, but the difference is marginal.
How does the product made using the new system compare – has the quality improved?
In terms of the product quality, we are very excited. While the improvement is small, we are achieving a more wine-like product through this unit. The flavours we are achieving are more multidimensional, we feel like we are getting more of the ‘heart’ of the wine into our products.
The new technology gives us greater control over the production of our wines, allowing for more hands-on experimentation to fine-tune our methods and recipes, so we can continue to provide premium, high-quality wine that caters to an alcohol-free lifestyle.
Less heating and handling of the product removes less of the other components of the wine – leaving more complex, wine-like characteristics in the product and ensuring greater vinosity.
We have MANY other things we are working on, beside this technology, and each incremental improvement gets us closer and closer to our goals. This new investment is a big leap for us, and the risk is paying off in the glass.
