Henkell Freixenet is taking its German sparkling wine brand Fürst von Metternich into the non-alcoholic category.
The sparkling wine and cava producer is adding a non-alcoholic product to the Fürst von Metternich range in Germany in January.
The wine will be rolled out in the off-trade and on e-commerce platforms.
Fürst von Metternich Riesling Alcohol-Free will be available through Schloss Henkell stores in the country and online through Cheers2you. The RRP for a 0.75 litre bottle will be €9.49 ($11.06).
Maren Lahm, CMO for Henkell Freixenet's business in Germany, said: "With Fürst von Metternich Riesling Alcohol-Free, we are positioning ourselves in a future-oriented market segment with strategic relevance.”
Fürst von Metternich is only sold in Germany and the business told Just Drinks that it has no plans to export products marketed under the brand.
The product is a result of a newly developed process that combines “traditional vacuum distillation with targeted aroma recovery”, Henkell-Freixenet said.
“This creates a product whose flavour is reminiscent of the typical profile of the grape variety."
Henkell Freixenet first entered non-alcoholic wine with Cantor Alcohol-Free in 1990, which was sold solely in Germany by Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei and is no longer on the market.
In 2011, Freixenet launched a 0.0% sparkling wine range, which it subsequently launched in the UK in 2018 and in the US in 2020. It was subsequently relaunched in 2022 with a low-calorie recipe in the same white and rosé varieties.
In 2022, Henkell Freixenet also launched alcohol-free aperitifs with Mionetto Aperitivo Alcohol Free, designed to act as a 0.0% alternative to an alcoholic Spritz. Last year, it also added a rosé variety to the non-alc Mionetto range.
Henkell Freixenet also makes a 0.0% range of low-calorie still wines in white, rosé and red, which have been available in the Nordics, Germany, Poland and Brazil since last year.
More recently, in April, the business expanded its non-alcoholic wine range to include alcohol-free Cava under Freixenet Cordon Negro 0.0% in brut and rosé.
