Making zero alcohol grape juice

The 'it' in question is the commercial launch this year of a zero alcohol juice made from wine grapes grown in New Zealand's fourth biggest wine region, Gisborne.

The juice is called First Press. It is an apt description of the production process and the fact that it is the first time a grape juice has been made on a scale that enables it to be sold nationwide to the on-trade.

It was produced partly in response to the progressive decline in the consumption of alcohol-based beverages in bars and restaurants. This decline has been noted by bar and restaurant owners (particularly in Wellington and Auckland) since 1 December 2014; the date that this country's drink driving laws officially changed.

The production of First Press juices is an attempt to provide a solution to the drink-driving problem. But the impetus to make the juices came about as a result of another demand altogether; a request from China for kiwifruit juice.

The juices are marketed and sold via Gisborne Gourmet, a food and beverage company owned by a family with a long history of entrepreneurship in the Gisborne region; the Thorpes. Family members are involved across a wide range of wine and food production from producing grafted vines (Geoff Thorpe), cheeses (Rick Thorpe), fruit orchards (Bill Thorpe) and wine (John Thorpe). The fruit for the wine grape juices comes from Bill Thorpe, who owns a large pack house.

"One of our Chinese clients asked if it was possible to purchase gold and green kiwifruit juice from us and, since John Thorpe had made kiwifruit 'wine' back when he was a beekeeper, we knew that we had the expertise to do it. That triggered the idea of extending the concept to wine grapes for a non alcoholic juice, so we sat around as a family, and thought, yeah, why not?" says Gene Walker, marketing manager for Gisborne Gourmet.

The family has now built an independent juice processing facility at the Gisborne Wine Company. This is the parent company to Solander Cellars, a winemaking and contract bottling facility on the former Lindauer winemaking site in Gisborne.

The front labels on the First Press bottles state clearly that the juices contain 0% alcohol by volume (ABV) and there has been a strong emphasis on devising labels with an appealing aesthetic, says Walker, who has married his background in design with his new role in marketing the juices. He also married into the family that is producing the new beverages; his partner is John Thorpe's daughter, Chelsea.

Walker says there is now a desire to grow the range of non alcoholic fruit juices and create another brand in the process.

The first vintage of First Press was 2015; not that a year of production is noted on the labels.

The 2015 vintage did deliver exceptionally healthy grapes, due to the relatively dry conditions in summer and autumn. This enabled the grapes to be harvested at full ripeness. They were then crushed, pressed and chilled in stainless steel tanks, prior to being pasteurised and bottled.

"Without the alcohol interfering, there is a lovely viscosity to the grape juice," Walker says.

The richness that he describes is strongly pronounced in the Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer, both of which not only feel full bodied, but also taste of their grapes.

The family chose varietals that Gisborne is well known for, so the First Press range includes Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Merlot and a Rosé. Due to the long growing season in 2015, the residual sugar in the juices is relatively high for fruit juice. It is approximately 22.5 brix.

The thinking is to look at picking earlier next vintage to keep the sugar lower because this will add another appealing aspect to the trade, which is increasingly being asked for beverages with a relatively low sugar content.

Production may also increase in the future. This year the family drew off between 1500 to 2000 litres of each varietal but with the tank capacity for greater volumes (and greater export demand) there is likely to be a greater amount produced in the future. Slightly more Gewurztraminer was made than the other juices in the range.

Walker says that he is carefully curating where to pitch the juices, in terms of which restaurants and bars to focus on.

One potential problem may be supply and demand. Walker has yet to promote the product in the country's major cities and sales are already robust. He has plans to work with cocktail bartenders because the richness of flavour and full body (and zero alcohol content) could provide an appealing aspect to cocktail-style beverages.

"I am finding it easy to get into bars and restaurants in Hawke's Bay and Gisborne and we are now about to start focusing on areas such as the Mount (Maunganui), Cambridge and Hamilton. We had a hotel in Greytown ask for a dozen of each juice, so word of mouth is already getting out there."

The products have also been taken to Qatar in the Middle East where they offer the market a valid alternative to an alcohol-based beverage.

"We recently started the business Gisborne Gourmet, a producer owned company which presents some of the best food and drinks products that Gisborne has to offer. Over time we will add more produce to our website site, gisbornegourmet.com, and it is also providing an outlet for the juices."

Walker designed the labels but the bottle shape and clarity (they are made of clear glass) also add a strong aspect to the design because they allow consumers to see exactly what they are drinking; juice that looks like wine.

"The thing I really want to emphasise about these bottles to our growing clients is that they are highly collectible; I remember my grandmother using these styles of bottles for preserves and my wife has a design store, which sells bottles such as these ones."