Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has opened a new in-house winemaking production facility for low- and no-alcohol wines in South Australia’s Barossa Valley.
With an investment of A$15m ($9.8m), the site was built over more than two years.
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It features “state-of-the-art” dealcoholisation technology and “patent pending processes for treating the aromatic component of wine that locks in flavour”, a statement from TWE said.
Sarah Parkes, general manager of sales and marketing for TWE’s “global premium” division, said: “Flavour has historically been a barrier for wine drinkers exploring a no or low alcohol alternative – this technology has helped us solve the flavour puzzle, and it’s had outstanding feedback from consumers so far.”
The facility will produce low and no-alcohol wines for TWE’s global portfolio, which includes brands like Squealing Pig, Pepperjack, Matua, 19 Crimes, Lindeman’s, and Wolf Blass.
TWE’s chief supply and sustainability officer Kerrin Petty added: “This state-of-the-art technology and proprietary process for de-alcoholisation is our latest step in building a hub of innovation, technology and sustainability in the Barossa Valley, where we’ve been crafting wine to delight consumers for more than a century.”
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By GlobalDataAlongside the opening, the Australian wine major also unveiled Sorbet, a new lower-alcohol wine range with an 8% abv.
Sorbet mixes wines like Prosecco, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, and Shiraz with fruit and berry flavours such as passionfruit, mango, and lemon.
TWE, which first launched low-alcohol wines with its Seppelt range in 1993, said Sorbet will be available in Australia from October in partnership with Endeavour Group.
In August last year, the Australian vintner announced plans to consolidate its premium wine brands unit.
The move, which is expected to be completed by July, will merge its Treasury Premium Brands (TPB) and Treasury Americas (TBA) unit into a new Global Premium Brands (GPB) division.
Last week, TWE lowered its forecast for a closely-watched profit metric amid pressure on US sales.
The Australian wine group said it expects its EBITS to be around A$770m in the financial year ending 30 June.
Treasury Wine Estates’ previous forecast was for EBITS to be “approximately $780m”, itself reset in February.
