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ITALY
TREND
and competitive disadvantage of Italian producers, is apparent when looking at the shelves
of foreign supermarkets. Under current Italian law it is not possible to state the name of the
grape variety on the label of a de-alcoholised wine if other ingredients are present, even in
very small quantities.
Cantine Sgarzi Luigi has chosen, also for this reason, to produce beverages whose main
component is de-alcoholised wine produced using Spinning Cone Column (SCC) technology,
with low-temperature vacuum distillation. Careful thought from the company’s technicians
has led to excellent results, both in terms of flavour – recently endorsed by Gilbert & Gaillard
gold medals – and for organoleptic stability with a guaranteed shelf life of at least 5 years.
This is a relatively new product category, benefitting from strong in-house expertise, and it
is garnering rapidly expanding market share both nationally and internationally in France,
Germany, Sweden, Poland, the USA and China.
The products help the company reach out to new consumer audiences – people who do not
drink alcohol for religious or health reasons for example – whilst also aligning with established
consumption trends in terms of lifestyle. To date, the overall market is estimated for the EU
at around 2.5 billion litres and 7.5 billion euros, largely cornered by beer. Wine’s share stands
at just €322 million while spirits and liquors stand at around €168 million. (Areté research
data.) Outside the EU, the largest markets are the USA and China. While the segment still
represents a niche market, generally covering less than 1% of the total, growth in recent years
for this type of product has been remarkable, against a backdrop of stable or declining alcohol
consumption.
Cantine Sgarzi Luigi’s new ZERO SL ZERO and CIAO ZERO products also place strong
emphasis on environmental sustainability with light glass bottles and aluminium cans to
reduce the company’s carbon footprint throughout the production cycle. Both glass and aluminium
are infinitely recyclable materials, while aluminium has a much faster recyclability cycle
and lower C02 consumption during the regeneration phases of the material itself. Sgarzi Luigi
is proud to be able to offer sustainable products.
THE NEW PRODUCTION FACILITIES AT SGARZI LUIGI, COMPLETED IN 2011, WERE BUILT USING
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY NATURAL MATERIALS AND COVERED WITH SOLAR PANELS WHICH
PROVIDE FOR MOST OF ITS ENERGY NEEDS
72 AUTUMN 2023 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE