Freeman Vineyard lands A$2M grant to build NSW's first dealcoholisation plant

What's the deal? Freeman Vineyard & WineryDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has secured a A$2 million (roughly $1.4 million) grant from the New South Wales GovernmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to build what the state says will be its first dealcoholisation facility. The plant will enable end-to-end production of non-alcoholic wine in the Hilltops region of regional NSW.

Why now? Demand for premium low- and no-alcohol wines keeps growing at home and abroad. Until now, NSW producers have had to send their wine interstate for alcohol removal.

What's the endgame? The facility will also include a bottling unit, which Freeman plans to open to other local producers. Owner Dr Brian Freeman and his daughter Marcelle expect the project to create local jobs once operational.

“You can make much better-quality wine if you don't have to transport it far, so we can make much better-quality non-alcoholic wine if we don't have to transport it far,” Marcelle Freeman said.

The context: The grant is part of the NSW Government's Agriculture Industries Innovation and Growth Program, which is backing 14 projects statewide. Freeman was among nine program recipients. Nearby, Blantyre Farms secured A$1 million to install an on-farm feedmill that produces pig feed from food waste and by-products.

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said keeping the capability local “will reduce transport costs, improve efficiency and strengthen our local manufacturing sector.”

The signal: The award ranks in the top 10% of food-sector grants of its kind, underscoring the scale of the bet. As consumer preferences shift toward no-alcohol options, governments are backing regional producers to keep production — and value — closer to home.

Read more: Young Witness

Image credit: Freeman Vineyard & Winery