It was inevitable, in this age of weight consciousness, that a low-calorie wine would make its appearance.
Accolade Wines just released a new line of low-calorie wines called “The Light Grape” that have been made with flavor and aroma in mind, as well as reduced calories.
The first and most important question: How did they lower the caloric content of a wine? In wine, the alcohol is the calorie factor and the more alcohol in the wine, the higher the number of calories.
Accolade vintners were faced with the particularly difficult problem of reducing the caloric content of a wine without producing one that tasted like mouthwash. Modern chemistry came to the rescue with a process called reverse osmosis.
Reverse osmosis is a system that has been used since 1992 to reduce the alcohol content of a wine made out of grapes that may have developed too much natural sugar and thus too much alcohol. The wine is passed through a filter designed to remove alcohol molecules while letting the flavor and aroma components pass through.
Of course, that filter removes some of the other characteristics of a wine. The Accolade vintners got around this by only filtering a portion of the wine and then reuniting it with the original wine, thus lowering the alcohol to 8.5 percent and the calorie content to 80 calories per a five ounce glass. That compares with the average for standard wines of approximately 125 calories per five ounce glass.
But it doesn’t end there. The original wine produced was made from grapes that were carefully selected to align them to the dealcoholization process, but still produce an acceptable wine.
As far as the wine itself is concerned, The Light Grape wines are not great wines - you don’t get great wines for $12 - but they are very good everyday wines and do stack up much better than many of the other low-calorie wines available today.
The Light Grape 2011 Rose ($12)Just after we wrote that it is good to see rose wines again, another one pops up.
This low-calorie wine has been blended to result in a wine displaying the distinct aromas and flavors of cherries, summer berries and, above all, pomegranate. There is a very interesting fruit and mineral finish that lingers in the mouth. The wine is slightly on the sweet side, which just enhances all of the attributes of the wine.
This wine can accompany almost anything and is a great escape valve if you are not sure which wine to serve with dinner.
The Light Grape 2012 Chardonnay ($12)Although made entirely of chardonnay grapes, a bit of sweetness in the wine suggests it has been made in the style of a riesling.
This is a very nice white wine with all of the aroma and flavor of apples and citrus that has made chardonnay wines so popular.
It is the perfect accompaniment to low-calorie chicken and seafood dishes.
The Light Grape 2012 White Blend ($12)This wine, a blend of pinot grigio and viognier, seems to have been specifically designed to accompany Asian foods, and is also no slouch when served with Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes.
The wine is crisp and loaded with the flavors and aromas of honeysuckle and citrus, ending in a fruity finish.
The Light Grape 2011 Red Blend ($12)The red blend is just that, a blend of cabernet sauvignon and petite sirah.
Strangely enough, the flavor and aroma of each of the varieties shows right up front. The petite sirah contributes its signature blackberry, currant, anise and black pepper flavors, while the cab adds its cherry and blackberry to the blend.
This is a great low-calorie wine to accompany any meat dishes, but since we are in the area of low calories, the lighter the meat the better.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and helps manage ArticlesOnWine.com with his wife, Sheila. He can be reached at frojhe@suddenlink.net.[[In-content Ad]]
