bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Jan 22, 2019 18:48:32 GMT
Does anyone feel able to recommend a lower alcohol red wine? As the wine I normally drink (not this month) seems to be creeping up from 12% to 14% I was hoping to kick back in the other direction and after an month of not drinking it might not matter too much if it isn't perfect. I have tried a few 0.0% and 0.5% and I am not that impressed, but I am looking to try reds with a target rate between 5% - 9%.
I understand that ALDI have a range called lightweight, but I haven't found it yet, and I am looking out for something called Pierre Chavin (5.5%) but again it is elusive at least in my local shops.
By the way my favourite low alcohol beer is Brewdog: Nanny State (0.5%) and my favourite lower alcohol lager is Skol (blast from the past) at 2.8% which seems to be the last of the lower alcohol lagers still available.
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registerme
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Post by registerme on Jan 22, 2019 19:08:54 GMT
It's not wine, but I can recommend Kombucha (a non / v low alcohol fermented tea drink). I've only had it a couple of times but it's been delicious, crisp and refreshing. The ones I've had were like an excellent lager. Stupidly expensive though at ~£3.50 for a 330ml bottle.
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Jan 22, 2019 21:01:44 GMT
It's not wine, but I can recommend Kombucha .... at ~£3.50 for a 330ml bottle. I think a friend of mine used to make his own 30+ years ago - he had some eastern European friends. I must confess I don't really remember what it tasted like and had no interest in growing my own at that time. BTW Holland & Barrett have something similar 400ml for £2.99.
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pom
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Post by pom on Jan 23, 2019 10:04:15 GMT
It's not wine, but I can recommend Kombucha (a non / v low alcohol fermented tea drink). I've only had it a couple of times but it's been delicious, crisp and refreshing. The ones I've had were like an excellent lager. Stupidly expensive though at ~£3.50 for a 330ml bottle. I've seen Kombucha recommended for many things, but never a substitute to wine before!!  Stupidly expensive to buy when it's so cheap and easy (once you get the stuff you need anyway) to make, albeit mines been languishing in the garage for over a year as I couldn't keep up with production (not least as I realised it probably had rather more sugar remaining in it than I'd have liked to have thought, especially when my most successful flavours were raspberry & cocoa nib and mincepie) and couldn't be bothered to restart after a holiday. bigfoot12 perhaps a silly question but since you're clearly thinking about home consumption why not get some vacuvin corks and just drink less of it, and at least stick with the good stuff? I just think it unlikely many decent winemakers would bother with low alcohol. I regularly can make a bottle of white last over a week (as I'm the only one that drinks it) tho red rarely survives beyond a couple of days (as I'm not the only one that drinks it....!)
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james100
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Post by james100 on Jan 23, 2019 10:43:18 GMT
If you're interested in trying something a little different then I recommend Stones Ginger Wine (not Crabbies that's vile). My preference is straight over ice or with whisky (Whisky Mac) but it also cuts well with soda or tonic for a low alcohol alternative. Hot whisky macs are officially classed as medicine IMHO if you're looking for a health angle.
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Jan 23, 2019 10:51:18 GMT
bigfoot12 perhaps a silly question but since you're clearly thinking about home consumption why not get some vacuvin corks and just drink less of it, and at least stick with the good stuff? I just think it unlikely many decent winemakers would bother with low alcohol. I regularly can make a bottle of white last over a week (as I'm the only one that drinks it) tho red rarely survives beyond a couple of days (as I'm not the only one that drinks it....!) Not a silly question, but the answer is lack of self control. I have vacuvin and sometimes use it (though red normally last a couple of days with the cork or screwtop anyway). I've had more success buying half bottles. I might have to put more effort into opening the bottle and then immediately putting it away... But I just thought that if there is something quite nice that is 9% ABV then why not try it. When I notice I've bought something that is 14% it doesn't necessarily taste better than wine at 12%. There seem to be quite a few weaker whites, but I haven't seen any reds.
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Jan 23, 2019 10:55:45 GMT
.. with whisky (Whisky Mac) ... Hot whisky macs are officially classed as medicine IMHO if you're looking for a health angle. Diluting wine with whisky is going in the wrong direction, hitting about 26% in my case. But I do like it and it is one of two cocktails (with Gin and Tonic) that I am happy to drink.
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pom
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Post by pom on Jan 23, 2019 11:51:55 GMT
.. with whisky (Whisky Mac) ... Hot whisky macs are officially classed as medicine IMHO if you're looking for a health angle. Diluting wine with whisky is going in the wrong direction, hitting about 26% in my case. But I do like it and it is one of two cocktails (with Gin and Tonic) that I am happy to drink. Well that's the other answer - a lot of cocktails (but definitely not all!!) are actually lower alcohol content than wine (and I find give fewer after effects than red, but then cheaper reds in particular can make me ill even if I drink very little, I think I'm sensitive to sulfites). If you were wanting to consider other cocktails I once saw a recommendation on a cocktail blog for a book called "the art of the shim" that was focusing on less alcoholic concoctions. I didn't buy it in the end as I had too many recipes already As for the self-control...well yes...otherwise even if you did find a magical 9%er, the risk would be you could tell yourself more is OK as it's only 9% and end up drinking twice as much!! Since red wine doesn't work in spritzers (or at least it'd probably be sacrilege to try, but its a good trick with white) perhaps the other solution would be to make sure you always have a large glass of water handy, and consciously alternate between the two, so that you're enjoying the taste of the red rather than just glugging through thirst. And of course the other obvious thing is not to start on the wine whilst cooking/waiting for food...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2019 8:55:13 GMT
White wine, look out for German wines in the 8 to 11% area. I regularly buy stocks from the Mosel and Pfalz for this. I can advise in more detail if white will do
Red wine, in the summer we drink a fair bit of Lumbrusco light, (Morrisons is best) often a bit sweet but chilled in a 1/2 pint glass it is fine
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Post by dobbo on Jan 25, 2019 23:30:17 GMT
My mother bought some 5% wine but mistake once as she thought the price was a snip. It wasn't bad undrinkable, but it really tasted sticky sweet like Ribena. Tended to put me off the whole idea so I've not tried it since.
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Mike
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Post by Mike on Jan 25, 2019 23:51:30 GMT
I find lambrusco can also be a bit ribena-esque. Drove to Italy in autumn brought back many different types, most I won't rush back to buy again. It gets boring in a way still reds don't.
One of the problems with the OPs idea is that ABV is often controlled - for example DOC requirements for Montepulciano d'Abruzzo stipulate 12% ABV as the absolute minimum. Anything less, you can't name it that. I don't know how widespread this is but I was surprised to learn that - on my recent Italian trip too!
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Mike
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Post by Mike on Jan 25, 2019 23:55:39 GMT
Since red wine doesn't work in spritzers (or at least it'd probably be sacrilege to try, but its a good trick with white) perhaps the other solution would be ... Don't knock it until you've tried it! In Spain it's called 'tinto de verano' and (a bit like a sangria) can turn plonk into a fizzy refresher!
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Jan 26, 2019 12:03:54 GMT
ABV is often controlled - for example DOC requirements for Montepulciano d'Abruzzo stipulate 12% ABV as the absolute minimum. Anything less, you can't name it that. I hadn't realised that. I guess I probably need something new world then. So far my best solution is 50cl bottles, I've bought a couple ready, so that gives a roughly 33% reduction in alcohol.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2019 13:52:46 GMT
I'm trying to work to the 14 units a week thing which roughly works out to a litre of wine a week. I go wine tasting every fortnight and so I have to hold 800ml in reserve for that leaving 600ml for the rest of the week. I also prefer to drink 200ml at a time which leads to abstinence for 3 to 4 days a week. I've found putting those days together helps.
Lambrusco light is not really fizzy just a little petillent.
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r00lish67
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Post by r00lish67 on Jan 26, 2019 14:46:56 GMT
I'm trying to work to the 14 units a week thing which roughly works out to a litre of wine a week. I go wine tasting every fortnight and so I have to hold 800ml in reserve for that leaving 600ml for the rest of the week. I also prefer to drink 200ml at a time which leads to abstinence for 3 to 4 days a week. I've found putting those days together helps.
Lambrusco light is not really fizzy just a little petillent.
Genuinely jealous of your commendable restraint bobo, but I've a bit of a bee in my bonnet about the 14 unit a week thing. For a start it applies to both men and women, which is highly questionable as men are far less prone to the longer term health risks. Most countries give varying guidelines for this reason. Secondly, as per the same article I linked to above, 14 units a week is really low compared to how the rest of the world sees it. The rate for men is more typically around 21 units, and as high as 35 (Spain). Indeed, until 1995 the UK agreed with the rest of the world that men were fine with 21 units. The Spectator put forward an interesting piece on how the 14 unit thing came about. Of note: " The most striking difference between the 1995 review and the 2016 review is the make-up of the panels. Whereas the 1995 committee was dominated by civil servants who had no obvious prejudices for or against alcohol, the meetings held from March 2013 to discuss alcohol guidance were dominated by activist academics and temperance campaigners. The Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), a small but hardline anti-alcohol organisation, was heavily represented on the committee"Not easily snippable but highly relevant too is the detail on dismissal of the proven scientific benefits of moderate drinking i.e. it is healthier to drink small amounts rather than nothing at all, which has been replaced by the same temperance crew with the motto "no safe level of alcohol". If all of the above sounds like I doth protest too much, then yeah, there's an element of that  I can also see that the UK govt is trying to anchor the bar low in the hope that people don't exceed it too much. 14 units though for a healthy adult male still seems a bit ridiculous to me. A couple of beers with workmates on Tuesday, sharing a bottle of wine with a significant other on thursday, then maybe Friday or Saturday a lively night out/dinner party and have a full bottle of wine for the whole night. That doesn't sound excessive to me (more an aspiration!), and yet with that profile you'd smash that limit out of the park. Finally, if the Queen can knock back 42 units a week and still be attending functions at age 92, then that's good enough for me.  Edit: Good thread btw, I intend to follow some of these tips.
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Stupidly expensive to buy when it's so cheap and easy (once you get the stuff you need anyway) to make, albeit mines been languishing in the garage for over a year as I couldn't keep up with production (not least as I realised it probably had rather more sugar remaining in it than I'd have liked to have thought, especially when my most successful flavours were raspberry & cocoa nib and mincepie) and couldn't be bothered to restart after a holiday.
I can also see that the UK govt is trying to anchor the bar low in the hope that people don't exceed it too much. 