John Wilson | Lower-alcohol Reds Perfect for Summer

It can be difficult to find decent lighter reds but this one stand out...

"Becoming more popular as we seek to cut our alcohol intake. Some more innovative retailers now have a"low and no" shelf, which seems like a very good idea,and some restaurants now list the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) of each wine. 

There is no official definition of"low alcohol",and the category can be divided into two.There are de-alcoholised wines which have had the alcohol removed by reverse osmosis or other methods. These typically have an ABV of 0.5 per cent to 5 per cent. A second group covers wines that naturally have a lower level of alcohol, anything from 7 per cent to 12 per cent. Today, we concentrate on these. 

There are plenty of white and rosé options available in this category. However, good lower alcohol red wines are more difficult to find. I suspect this is because they are more difficult to produce. As temperatures rise in the world's vineyards, so too do sugar levels, which translates into higher alcohol. One option is to harvest earlier, but this means higher acidity and sometimes green flavours. With techniques including spinning cone (a form of vacuum distillation) and reverse osmosis, a producer can remove as much alcohol as they want. However there is a tipping point, when wine no longer really tastes like wine. As standard red wines typically have higher alcohol levels, the drop to 11 per cent or less seems to affect them more. This week, we feature a lighter red perfect for summer drinking."

Mas Combarèla, "Grain de Folie", Vin de France, 2024 - 12%

"A real charmer; Soft wild strawberry fruits witha lick of Liquorice. Light rounded and easy. Perfect summer drinking." 

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