British grocer Sainsbury’s has announced it is reducing the average alcohol content (ABV) of its own-brand Taste the Difference Prosecco Conegliano.
The sparkling wine’s ABV has been reduced from 11 per cent to 10.5 per cent, without compromising on taste, said the supermarket chain.
As part of its 20x20 commitments, Sainsbury’s has pledged to double the sales of lighter alcohol wines by 2020.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Prosecco is a DOCG wine, sourced from the Conegliano region and made by Cantine Riunite.
It is the biggest-selling Taste the Difference drinks line and is available in a number of formats - 75cl bottle, a 1.5l magnum, a 20cl single serve and a 37.5cl half bottle.
The ABV information on Sainsbury’s own-brand wines is printed in large font, positioned on the left-hand side of the front label.
Speaking on the news, Sainsbury’s winemaker Ryan Carter said: ‘We take responsible drinking and the requirements of our customers very seriously. We were the first retailer to adopt the Department of Health’s guidelines on alcohol labelling and introduced calorie labelling on own -rand wines earlier this year."
He continued, "This new liquid is the result of collaboration between Cantine Riunite’s winemakers and our in-house team. I am pleased to have been able to achieve this reduction to our Taste the Difference Prosecco - it is a technically challenging process and we worked hard for our customers to ensure it scored parity on taste with the 11 per cent blend during customer taste testing."
Public Health Minister, Jane Ellison welcomed the move by Sainsbury's to lower the alcohol content of its prosecco.
"This will help customers to reduce the alcohol units they consume and I would encourage all retailers to look at similar initiatives,” she said.
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