Low Alcohol Wine?

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Fencepost

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I understand that wine itself (or the alcohol in the wine) acts as a preservative of sorts when storing wine. The lowest wine I have seen on the market is ~10%. Is there a reason wine is not made down in the 6 or 7% range (or even 5%)? Will it be what I have seen on the forum called too "thin"? Does it lose this preservative effect at some point? Has anyone made low alcohol wine? What's the drawback?
Thanks in advance for your response.
 
There is a minimum alcohol level to be classified as a wine by the TTB, 7% I recall. The alcohol does help with the preservation and requires less sorbate at higher alcohol levels to prevent refermentation. Even high alcohol wines and ports will oxidize though without sulfites.

I'd say an answer to your question is that a moderate alcohol level of say 11% helps balance the acidity, oak and flavors in the fruit. Though, I like some wines (apple) with lower alcohol because I found there is more fruit flavor present.

(Edit)
One major regulatory reason you don't seen wines below 7% is that these wines may need to meet FDA labeling requirements rather than those of TTB.

27 CFR part 4 §4.7 (a)
Products containing less than 7 percent alcohol by volume. The regulations in this part do not cover products that would otherwise meet the definition of wine except that they contain less than 7 percent alcohol by volume. Bottlers and importers of alcohol beverages that do not fall within the definition of malt beverages, wine, or distilled spirits under the FAA Act should refer to the applicable labeling regulations for foods issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. See 21 CFR part 101.

27 CFR part 24 §24.257 (b)(2)(ii)
(ii) Wines that do not require label approval—(A) Adequate designation. If the wine is not subject to label approval under 27 CFR part 4 because it either is covered by a certificate of exemption from label approval or contains less than 7 percent alcohol by volume, its label must bear a designation that includes enough information (when viewed with the alcohol content statement) to identify the tax class under 26 U.S.C. 5041. The wine must be identified by the term “wine” (or a word that signifies a type of wine, such as “cider,” “perry,” or “mead,” as applicable). If the wine contains more than 0.392 gram of carbon dioxide per 100 milliliters, the word “sparkling” or “carbonated,” as applicable, must be included in the designation.
 
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Yes you can make a 5% alcohol beverage, I would call it a cider or a sangria not a wine.

Alcohol wants to further break down when oxygen is present. If it is only oxidation it produces acetaldehyde, ie sharp burn note in the back of the throat as you swallow. As @jgmillr1 notes we use metabisulphite to prevent (slow down) oxidation.
YES,,, From the micro point of view alcohol is a sanitizer, therefore less has a chance to grow with higher levels of alcohol. Under 4% is considered inadequate for microbiology. if you make a natural cider, ,,, ie drink it in a year. ,,, A natural beverage above 10% is considered stable, however we can completely stop micro issues by sterile filtering at half a micron. As a reference point port are 18% and covid sanitizer is 60%.

Acid helps with stability if you can drop the pH below 2.8 or 2.9 you should stop growth/ have a stuck fermentation. Stability is a combination of several factors, again as mentioned above sorbate will be more effective, also SO2 is more effective so, ,,, the preservative system is a balance of over four ingredients. we manipulate.

Thin? ,,, as a wine judge water makes a wine thin and glycerin (a yeast byproduct) makes a wine thick or More fruit solids give thickness, ,,, a crop year with limited rain will give higher solids which translates to viscosity or as a lab bench person just add a 40 pound pail of frozen concentrate to the tank.
 
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