Process for producing alcohol-reduced or alcohol-free beverages made by natural fermentation

A process of preparing alcohol-reduced beverages from starting beverages obtained by natural alcoholic fermentation,

• the process comprising the steps of
• pressurizing and heating the starting beverage,
• introducing the pressurized and heated started beverage to the upper end of a vertically elongated extracting column,
• introducing a super critical liquid carbon dioxide to the extracting column at a pressure and temperature to cause the carbon dioxide to absorb aromatic substances having low and high boiling points and an amount of alcohol,
• withdrawing and cooling the carbon dioxide and aromatic substances from the extracting column, thereby leaving a residual beverage in the extracting column,
• introducing the withdrawn carbon dioxide and aromatic substances in a separate vessel so as to separate liquid aromatic concentrates containing alcohol from the carbon dioxide,
• withdrawing the residual beverage from the lower end of the extracting column,
• depressurizing and cooling the withdrawn residual beverage,
• introducing the depressurized and cooled residual beverage to the bottom of a vertically elongated rectifying column,
• withdrawing an ethanol fraction from the top of the rectifying column,
• withdrawing an aromatic residual beverage fraction from the center of the rectifying column,
• withdrawing a dealcoholized residual beverage fraction from the bottom of the rectifying column,
• and mixing the dealcoholized residual beverage fraction from the bottom of the rectifying column and the aromatic residual beverage fraction withdrawn from the center of the rectifying column with the liquid aromatic concentrates from the extracting column to produce a further dealcoholized residual beverage.