(By Tim Treadgold, 16 November 2009)

An Australian company's technology fixes flaws in grapes. Will purists approve?

Taking alcohol out of wine seems a bit like taking the fun out of a day at the beach--and certainly very un-Australian. But that is how Memstar, a Melbourne business, is making money. Memstar uses high-tech membranes (hence the first part of its name) to remove unwanted elements in wine, right down to the molecular level. Removing alcohol is the major use of the technology, but with a switch in the process other unwanted elements can be removed, including smoke taint from forest fires. Both problems, rising alcohol levels in wine caused by excess sugar in grapes, and smoke from such fires, have been blamed on a warming climate.

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