**2.6 Further treatments**

A number of further enological methods are conceivable to reduce the alcohol content of wine such as:


Except from dilution, all of these are of a technical nature. However, none of these methods have been really successful so far. The reasons for this can be seen either from an economic point of view or in legal aspects. The dilution with water is probably the oldest form of wine fraud and was formerly often used for volume increase. Nowadays the targeted addition of water to reduce the sugar content in must and so to reduce the alcohol content in wine is not legal in most wine-producing countries.

Nevertheless, water addition is legal under certain requirements in some countries. Article 17,010 of the California Administrative Code has the following wording: "…no water in excess of the minimum amount necessary to facilitate normal fermentation, may be used in the production or cellar treatment of any grape wine…."

This provides the enologist a simple and cost-effective way to avoid the stress of the yeast due to high sugar levels and also increase alcohol levels toward the end of fermentation. In addition, unwanted aroma components in the wine are reduced by the dilution.

Another method to achieve wines with less alcohol is the blend with low alcoholic wine. However, the wine law regulations on waste and labeling rights must be observed.
