IN BREVE
- The boom in decaffeinated coffee consumption reflects the wine world’s hesitation regarding dealcoholized wines.
- Martin Foradori Hofstätter highlights how consumer habits change faster than the traditional beliefs of the wine industry.
- The case of decaffeinated coffee helps in understanding the emerging interest in dealcoholized wines.
- According to the South Tyrolean producer, the real question is: why are millions of consumers choosing these alternative products?
- The winemaker will be present at Vinitaly 2026, in the space dedicated to NoLo (Stand 1, 2nd floor of Palaexpo)
There is something deeply ironic about the way certain debates cyclically reappear in the wine world. Sparking this reflection is the boom of decaffeinated coffee in Italy. A phenomenon that, on closer inspection, says much more than a simple change in caffeine-related habits. And which, in the words of Martin Foradori Hofstätter, ends up surprisingly resembling the doubts surrounding dealcoholized wines.
«Reading the article on the growing consumption of decaffeinated coffee, I couldn’t help but think of certain controversies that have also been crossing the wine world for some time. Controversies that increasingly resemble Don Quixote’s fight against windmills». So begins the “letter” entrusted to Winemag by the South Tyrolean winemaker, the fourth generation of one of Italy’s historic wine families. A lucid snapshot of an attitude of closure and widespread ostracism even among professionals and Horeca operators.
WINE, IDEOLOGY, AND CLICHÉS
«Even today, many players in the wine sector, and not a few Horeca professionals, seem convinced that the main task is to fight an ideological battle: to establish what is “real”, what is “authentic”, what “cannot be called” wine».
According to Martin Foradori Hofstätter, the script is well-known. And it repeats without substantial variations: “It can’t be called wine”. “The taste isn’t traditional”. “It’s a threat to culture”. A refrain that, shifted just a few meters, sounds identical even in front of a coffee cup.
«I’d be curious to know if the same voices also lash out against decaffeinated coffee: “Decaf isn’t real coffee”. “The flavor isn’t the same”. “It’s a threat to culture”», asks the South Tyrolean producer.
CHANGING CONSUMPTION (FASTER THAN IDEAS)
The point, however, is not the product. It is people’s behavior. «History – Hofstätter points out – proves one very simple thing: consumer habits change faster and faster than the convictions of those working in the sectors that should be at their service».
The case of decaf thus becomes a useful lens for interpreting what is also happening in wine. «The data on decaffeinated coffee are interesting not so much for the product itself, but for what they reveal. People are not abandoning coffee. They are consuming it differently. They alternate, modulate, and choose based on the time of day and their lifestyle».
Not a step back, but a change in perspective. «It is not a renunciation. It is a redefinition of consumption», further highlights Martin Foradori Hofstätter, pioneer and champion of dealcoholized wines in Italy, so much so that the J. Hofstätter – Dr. Fischer winery will be present at Vinitaly 2026 with the slogan “We define zero“, in the pavilion dedicated for the first time entirely to the NoLo category – No and Low alcohol (Stand no. 1, 2nd floor Palaexpo).
DEALCOHOLIZED WINES, MARKET, AND NEW HABITS
The same dynamic is taking hold in wine, with growing interest in dealcoholized versions. And here comes the central point: «Thinking of stopping this change with an ideological crusade is a belief that is not only short-sighted, but also economically self-defeating. Because while someone fights a war of principle, someone else builds a market».
The questions, Hofstätter suggests, should simply be flipped. «The question isn’t whether decaf is “real coffee”. The question is: “Why are millions of people choosing it?” The question isn’t whether dealcoholized wine is “real wine”. The question is: “Why do millions of consumers want to have this option too?”».
DRINKING CULTURE HAS NEVER STOOD STILL
Those who work in wine should know it well: consumption trends never remain static. «Anyone working in the wine sector, at every level – Martin Foradori Hofstätter also writes to Winemag – should know a simple truth well: drinking culture has never been static. It has always evolved along with society».
From a nutritional function to gastronomic pleasure, up to the experiential and cultural dimension. The next step seems already written. «Today we are entering a phase where freedom of choice and the modulation of consumption become central».
A paradigm shift that, according to the South Tyrolean winemaker, should not be feared. «It’s not a threat to wine. It’s a new chapter!». It is worth, then, updating the imagery: «Because windmills keep turning, regardless of who decides to attack them. After all, when the battle is against the wind…».
