In this work alcohol removal from apple cider using the membrane technique of reverse osmosis was studied. Several aromatic polyamide and cellulose acetate membranes were tested. Experiments were carried out at different transmembrane pressures (15-50 bar), while the temperature was set at 15 T and feed flow at 200 L/h. Permeate flux and rejection were observed to increase with transmembrane pressure, and aromatic polyamide membranes showed higher retention and higher selectivity for the permeation of ethanol vs other aroma compounds than cellulose acetate membranes. Experimental results were explained using the preferential sorption-capillary flow model. Batch and diafiltration configurations were compared for cider dealcoholization. Diafiltration presented higher values of permeate flux and ethanol removal than the batch process. About 75% of ethanol can be removed from the cider without significant losses of the main aroma compounds. Removal of other undesirable compounds, such as methanol and acetic acid, is also high.