Dealcoholizing Wine

I got bad news from 23&Me, the gene sequencing service, they told me I a bad gene for Alzheimer's disease. Now old people are afraid of losing their minds. A lot of older people than I can't remember anything. When you can't remember you can't take care of yourself, and it is pathway to an early death. 

My daughter, not surprisingly, also has bad Alzheimer's genes, and she found medical research proving that the bad gene with alcohol was far worse. Most of the bad gene's effect was for alcohol drinkers. 

I have been wine making for 15 or 20 years, and it is one my main hobbies. I don't care for being drunk really; mostly because after-while it makes me sleepy. I drink a glass of wine a day, and I'd drink it slowly to savor it. I have about 50 gallons in the basement -- that is about 250 bottles worth. Most of it is still aging in carboys and demijohns. 

So I get this bad news on the  drinking. Here is an example: Midlife Alcohol Consumption and Later Life Cognitive Impairment: Light Drinking is Not Protective and APEO Genotype Does Not Change This Relationship. The title tells the story, and it is a 2022 article so related articles are in the endnotes.

I decided it is better to not drink and delay losing my mind by a few years. I don't think it is a tough choice. I mean drinking isn't that fun. 

Dealcoholized Wine

I am planning to dealcoholize my homemade wine. It is easy to do that.

1. Put the wine in the top of a double boiler with water in the bottom. 

2. Monitor the temperature at about 180F you will see the alcohol boiling off. (I am not making any effort to collect the alcohol and make brandy. Maybe someday.)

3. As it boils off the temperature will go up to about 195F, and stop boiling. The double boiler is almost incapable of boiling in the upper pot. Hold it there for a few minutes. 

4. That's it. Turn off the heat and let it cool. 

5. I find that I lose about 30% of the volume in this process. That is a lot. 12-14% is alcohol and the other 16-18% is water boiling away. You could add water back. Commercial dealcoholized wine is diluted back, often with grape juice. My thought is that a full-bodied red may benefit from dilution with water, and that a white may benefit from concentration. 

I have noticed the pH dropping after dealcoholization; not sure what the chemistry is there.  My theory is that we are releasing acetic acid that had been bound up some how. Acetic acid boils at 244F.