The present work studies the use of nanofiltration for the production of red wine
concentrate with low alcohol content. Factorial design was applied to measure the
influences of transmembrane pressure (10-20 bar) and temperature (20-40?) on the retention
of valuable components such as anthocyanins and resveratrol, and on the nanofiltration
membrane performance. The highest retention of anthocyanin and resveratrol was achieved
at low temperature (20?), while the high transmembrane pressure (20 bar) was found
to increase the permeate flux considerably. The experiments demonstrated that nanofiltration
appears as a valid technique for the production of low alcohol content red wine concentrate.
Reduction of volume by a factor of 4, leads to 2.5-3 times more anthocyanins and resveratrol
in the wine concentrates. The final new wine products - obtained by using various
forms of reconstitution of the concentrated wine - had low alcohol content (4-6 %
by volume) and their sensory attributes were similar to those of the original wine.
