Led · Equity · Sep 2025

Villa Noria produces fermented, alcohol‑free grape beverages (Levin) using a leaven of non‑Saccharomyces bacteria and yeasts applied to juice from its 95 hectares of vines in Montagnac, Hérault. The team has scaled operations to handle fresh must by purchasing thermoregulated tanks with automated cleaning and installing wine‑style fermenters that operate like cheese vats for reproducible, automated fermentations. The domaine plans to expand annual output from about 100,000 to 400,000 bottles and has replanted 14 hectares in the past two years. To guarantee sterility without additives (no citric acid, sulfites, or dimethyl dicarbonate), they will install a tunnel pasteurizer for already‑corked bottles within two months and have tested compatibility with reusable bottles to reduce carbon footprint. Management also intends to invest in insulating the cellars and covering them with solar panels to further lower energy use, noting non‑alcoholic fermentation is roughly four times less energy‑intensive than dealcoholization. The recent financing supports completion of what the founders call the world’s first alcohol‑free winemaking cellar and the operational upgrades required to scale production.