Low Alcohol Wine: Enjoy the Benefits of Wine without the Guilt

As the world’s fifth largest exporter in the world, Australia sure makes its presence known in the wine industry. To better understand this, this amounts to about 60% of the total production of wine in the country, with a whopping value of $2.78 billion registered as of late, showing a growth of 5%.

We sure are a wine loving nation, even though beer was thought to be the favourite for quite some time, and I dare say perhaps the ad valorem tax (taxation according to value) making wine cheaper than other alcoholic beverages per unit has something to do with it too.

There’s no doubt wine is the preferred drink of many, especially after the age of 30 when pre-mixed spirits don’t seem that effective with relaxing and calling it a day. Besides, wine is a classy drink that’s been among the favourites of humankind for centuries, used in all kinds of festivities, celebrations and social events.

However, when it comes to health, is it really the best option? Truth be told, you have to be really careful not to cross the line of what healthy wine consuming is, in other words the moderate being a glass a day, but if you don’t want to be stressed with this and the guilt that comes from it afterwards, you could always turn to low alcohol wine instead.

The difference as you can guess by the name is in the ABV (alcohol by volume), since though both go through fermentation, the low alcohol units variant has its fermentation ended somewhat earlier than the other.

The Benefits

For a person being used to the alcohol, the thought of buying low alcohol seems like cheating oneself but once you find out the benefits from switching to this alternative, you’re sure to give it a try.

Opting for this type of wine is great because you don’t have to give up wine altogether to be able to cut down on the alcohol intake, same as with replacing sugar with organic sweeteners.

Though it’s a drink considered to bring about plenty of health benefits due to the antioxidants it has, such as polyphenols, still it’s not always those antioxidants are consumed to the fullest, and the more units the wine has the more calories you’d consume so you’d also protect your waist making the change.

Additionally, not being moderate with your wine intake means instead of adding benefits to your well-being, you expose your health to risks of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, diabetes, stroke, liver cirrhosis, weight gain, depression and alcohol dependence – not to mention accidents and awkward situations too which sure have their effects on relationships.

This being said, you don’t have to immediately go from the usual 12-14% units i.e. the ABV of wines to 5.5% or even 0.5%, there’s a wide range of low alcohol wine with 10, 9, 8 and 7% to gradually get used to the change. Apart from allowing you to have less of the damaging effects of alcohol, it can also save you from the terrible headaches that typically accompany a hangover, because the less alcohol a wine has, the better you’d be able to sleep.

Still, it’s advisable to remember that low alcohol isn’t the same as non-alcoholic wine, and it does contain a dose of alcohol in it so buying yourself a bottle of lighter wine doesn’t mean you can drink more from it per day either; remember, moderation is the key!

A Wide Variety

Being part of a world focused on the well-being means you’re in luck because you’re not the only one trying to get the benefits of wine in your diet without the risks of intoxication, which results in a wide range of options of quality low alcohol wine to suit every palate.

To be sure you drink a wine of quality (just because it’s low alcohol you shouldn’t compromise on quality!), prior to buying check whether it’s organic certified A grade. Now then, depending on the kind of drinker you are, that is when you prefer to have your glass during the day, over breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, or dessert, you can choose from different options of sparkling, white and rosé.

Yes, there’s just the right wine to satisfy everyone’s taste buds. If you’re up for rich flavours with accents of toffee, nuts, and raisins, you wouldn’t be disappointed by the savoury Ngeringa Altus from Pinot Gris grapes, whereas those up for a more fruity flavour would do well in picking Spring Seed’s Sweet Pea Moscato famous for its notable pink colour and hints of rosewater, mandarin and grapefruit.

For a refreshing acid aftertaste and a mixture of tropical fruit aromas, rose and orange blossom try Tamburlaine’s Moscato. The lovers of off-dry wines and their finishing notes of sweetness would like the taste of Rosnay Apero Semillon.