EDEKA Südwest’s Ortenauer Weinkeller will host production of alcohol-free and reduced-alcohol wines for the newly established Vinova business in Offenburg, Germany, from early 2027.
The agreement, announced on 29 September, gives Vinova access to bottling equipment and part of the winery building. It creates a production base for winegrowers, cooperatives, brands and retail partners seeking to develop products without building their own processing operation.
Vinova was founded by Wild Schwarzwaldbrennerei & Weingut and Privat-Sektkellerei Reinecker. Its registered base is in Gengenbach, while manufacturing is planned for Offenburg.
The proposed service brings analysis, advice, alcohol removal, aroma recovery and bottling together. It also includes white-label production, allowing customers to sell products under their own brands.
That combination could give German private-label suppliers another route into alcohol-free wine. Smaller wine businesses would be able to assess a lower-alcohol range without first committing to a dedicated plant, although commercial terms and minimum production runs have not been disclosed.
Vinova plans to combine vacuum distillation with aroma-recovery technology from Solos. The stated aim is to retain the wine’s characteristic flavour during alcohol reduction, a central consideration when translating a familiar wine into a different drinking occasion.
“Alcohol-free wines are rapidly gaining importance and are no longer a niche product,” EDEKA Südwest board member Klaus Fickert said, translated from German.
Ortenauer Weinkeller already produces dealcoholised wine products. The new agreement therefore extends an existing activity rather than marking its first move into the category.
The production arrangement also needs to be distinguished from a retail listing. EDEKA has not announced a launch range, shelf prices or confirmed distribution for Vinova-made products across its stores.
The group’s regional structure matters here. EDEKA’s supermarket network combines substantial buying power with locally operated stores. EDEKA Südwest reported €11 billion in retail sales for 2025 and serves around 1,100 markets, but that scale does not automatically translate into listings for every new production partner.
For a prospective range, the next questions are practical: flavour consistency between batches, validated shelf life, packaging specifications, lead times and the cost of processing alongside the original wine.
These details will determine whether the shared production model can support repeat orders at commercially workable prices. Production is expected to begin in early 2027.
Editor’s note: Based on EDEKA Südwest’s 29 September 2026 press release, translated from German, with GTN analysis of sourcing and retail implications.
