AUS: Growers look to non-alcoholic sparkling wine

By just-drinks.com editorial team | 9 May 2006

A group of grape growers in South Australia are reportedly hoping to use up their unwanted fruit by breaking into the non-alcoholic sparkling wine market.

The Virginia Horticulture Centre, north of Adelaide, has begun a pilot project to see if it is viable, an ABC News report said today (9 May).

The report quoted project manager Maxine Grieve as saying that, if successful, the group will only sell the grapes domestically, as there is already a surplus of non-alcoholic wine internationally.

Earlier this month, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation reported that up to 3% of grapes - enough to make around 55m bottles of wine - would have been left to wither on the vine at this year's harvest because of the country's Australian wine glut.

Sectors: Wine