Low sugar, low price — great wines
Many people think you can’t get inexpensive wines that are bone dry. But you can. You just need to know where to look.
Read on for a roundup of delicious, dirt cheap and dry bottles — starting with the only New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc under $15 at the LCBO.
The 2022 Te Henga Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (LCBO $14) with just five grams per litre (g/l) of sugar is bang-on stylistically with its wildly aromatic intensity and on-point taste profile. Find full-throttle aromas of sliced green apple and gooseberry laced with jalapeno before a quick-and-juicy flood of flavour. Pink grapefruit and sliced Granny Smith refreshment is threaded with lime zest and white flowers with cool, saline underpinning. Long. Score: 92
To put that sugar level in perspective, 5 g/l of sugar equals less than a quarter teaspoon per 5 oz/150 ml serving — so not a lot. And all wines recommended here contain 5 g/l or less.
Fans of full-bodied reds should stock up now on the
2020 Beronia Elaboración Especial Tempranillo
from Rioja, Spain (LCBO $14.45 till Jan. 29, reg. $17.45). This knockout buy clocks a mere 2g/l of sugar and swirls with heady scents of black cherries, burnt sugar and cream. Then, it saturates the palate with more of the same. Ripe, lush and full of fruit, this big Spanish red fans out with allusions to melted chocolate, toasted tobacco and toffee before tapering to a long, languid finish. Smart buy. Score: 94
Also excellent is the 2018 Bodegas Piqueras Castillo de Almansa Reserva, DO Almansa (LCBO $14.10) with its low 4 g/l of sugar. This full-bodied, Old World red exudes a deep, dark, plummy perfume underpinned with pepper and earth. Then, it slides in with muddled fruit before unfurling with much more. Find blackberry, toasted tobacco, baking spices and nuts hemmed in by a firm, velvet-gloved structure. Excellent value. Score: 92
White wine lovers will find genuine joy in the 2021 Aveleda Loureiro and Alvarino Vinho Verde from Portugal (LCBO $13.95) with its 3 g/l of sugar. Each sip is full of more complexity and finesse than usually found at this price point. Bright lime scored with lilac, grapefruit zest and bay leaf can be found on the nose before the crisp, pure attack delivers a lively lick of lime that beams in and cascades with cool stone and dried herbs. While many Vinho Verdes can be sweeter, this one is not. But it’s beautifully balanced, food friendly and quenching. Score: 93
Also from Portugal is the 2021 Loios white from the Alentejo region (LCBO $9.80) with only 2 g/l of sugar. This hand-harvested blend of Roupeiro and Rabo de Ovelha — two indigenous grapes from the region — tastes snappy with chiselled, salted lime and slatelike aromas. Though not a wildly complex white, this white’s gift is its polished mouth feel, pristine fruit and impeccable balance. Honest value at an affordable price.
Score: 90
If you gravitate toward Pinot Grigio for its understated flavour and inherent luminosity, reach for the 2021 Cavit Collection Pinot Grigio Valdadige DOC from Italy (LCBO $13.95). With 5 g/l of sugar, this suave white wine tastes silky and radiant. Each glossy sip streams in with subtle suggestions of mixed citrus, cool chalk and a touch of almond. Does not disappoint.
Score: 92
This column doesn’t usually note the technical sugar levels of bottles recommended because sugar is only ever part of the taste equation. Wines with a fair amount of sugar can taste quite dry. Meanwhile, bone dry bottles seem sweet and ripe. That’s because the perception of sweetness depends on a variety of things including the fruit concentration, acidity level, wine style and more. Acidity for instance hides sugar. Oak treatment adds confected nuances such as toffee, praline and vanilla. And on and on we go.
You can count on the six wines above to be low in sugar and price. But if you want to know the sugar level of other bottles, here’s what you do: For wines sold at the LCBO, go to lcbo.com and search for the product.
Then, click on the wine’s name to reach its product page, and scroll down to see the sugar content. The LCBO notes the sugar for most of the wines it stocks.
As for a wine sold only at a winery, contact the estate directly and ask for the sugar level in grams per litre. They should be able to provide that information.
CAROLYN EVANS HAMMOND IS A TORONTO-BASED WINE WRITER AND A FREELANCE CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST FOR THE STAR. WINERIES OCCASIONALLY SPONSOR SEGMENTS ON HER YOUTUBE SERIES YET THEY HAVE NO ROLE IN THE SELECTION OF THE WINES SHE CHOOSES TO REVIEW OR HER OPINIONS OF THOSE WINES. ALL PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. REACH HER VIA EMAIL: CAROLYN @CAROLYNEVANSHAMMOND.COM. PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY 2021 Aveleda Loureiro and Alvarino Vinho Verde from Portugal (LCBO $13.95) 2021 Loios white from the Alentejo, Portugal (LCBO $9.80)