5 low-sugar wines you’ll be sweet on
A reader recently wrote to ask: “Isn’t it important to add sugar content of the wines reviewed? It would be nice.”
I understand. He, like lot of people, wants to know how much sugar he’s drinking when he enjoys a glass of vino. But sugar content can be misleading. Here’s why.
Dry-tasting wines can pack more sugar than you might think because acidity hides sweetness.
Sparkling wine is a classic example. “Brut” styles contain up to 12 grams per litre (g/L) but taste dry because of sky-high acidity.
The sugar balances the wine to ensure there’s pleasure in the glass. Without it, the wine would taste shrill.
Meanwhile, wines with very little sugar can seem quite confected depending on how they’re made.
New oak can impart butterscotch, praline and nougat notes; fruit-forward reds can be technically dry but taste jammy; and whites with pronounced tropical notes can imply sweetness — all without the sugar. Meiomi Pinot Noir from California is notorious in the trade for being a wine that hides a whack of sugar, packing 21 g/L according to LCBO.com.
What matters most is balance. The best wines will always have great balance of acid, fruit concentration, sugar, alcohol and, sometimes, tannin. None of those elements should stand out. No one enjoys searing acidity, thin fruit, cloying sweetness, burning alcohol or tough tannins.
Winemakers know this and work accordingly.
If knowing the sugar content of a wine is important to you, here are four delicious bottles under $20 and one splurge, each with 3 g/L of sugar or less, which amounts to about 0.5 (1/8 tsp) per 150-ml (5oz) serving.
A bit of a steal is the 2022 Julia Florista White Vinho Regional Lisboa from Portugal (LCBO 532341, $10.55). Full-fruited and tropical with oodles of orange and pineapple, laced with light strokes of poached pear and rose petal, this refresher just sings. And mineral undertones lend seriousness to the wine’s easygoing character. Score: 93
For a crush of choco-berry goodness without the sugar, pick up the 2020 Sidewood Shiraz from Adelaide Hills, Australia (Vintages 446146, $19.95). This richly fruited red tastes plush with heady aromas and velvet flavours that of poached cherries, nutty vanilla and creamy dark cocoa. Full-bodied and balanced with just enough lift to keep it refreshing, it’s sure to please those with a thing for big, fruitforward reds. Score: 91
If your preferences lean more toward full-bodied reds from the Rhône, an exciting bottle is the 2022 Bonpas Grande Réserve des Challieres from Ventoux, France (LCBO 20865, $13.95). This classic blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre exudes grilled red meat and underbrush, black olive and dried herbs de Provence aromas and then rolls in slowly. It quietly unfolds with a bold but balanced expression with everything on the nose reflecting on the palate. Long.
Score: 94
If you’re celebrating Passover, the new 2023 Unorthodox Sauvignon Blanc from the Coastal Region of South Africa (Vintages 516625, $19.95) might interest you. It was pasteurized in the juice stage of production so is both Mevushal and Kosher. The wine bursts with sweet-fruited goodness, spiralling in with punchy peach and Granny Smith flavours with a touch of salt and stone underpinning the fruit and emerging on the finish. This lively, unoaked white tastes ripe, round and quenching. Score: 92 The splurge
For a bit more of an indulgence, the recently released 2021 Descendientes de J. Palacios Pétalos, D.O. Bierzo, Spain (Vintages 446484, $28.95) is a smart wine. It’s made from 93 per cent Mencia — a subtle, good quality, native grape in the northwestern corner of Spain where Bierzo is located — blended with a handful of other local varieties. Truly Spanish, the wine begins with the soft fragrance of blackberries and wild cherry, dried earth and cool violet as well as a rattle of stones somewhere.
On the palate, a red berry, blue fruit and floral expression tastes equal parts ethereal, playful and sophisticated. This is a cerebral red wine. Score: 93
Three ways to know how much sugar is in a wine
1. Ask the winery for the wine’s technical data or look it up on the winery’s website.
2. Go to lcbo.com, type the wine’s name in the search bar, then scroll down to see the sugar content. The LCBO site posts the sugar levels for most of the wines it sells.
3. To gauge a wine’s sweetness, take a sip and focus on the tip of the tongue.
The sugar is most apparent there. It takes some practice, but it’s how those connoisseurs and those in the industry taste for sweetness. CAROLYN EVANS HAMMOND IS A TORONTO-BASED WINE WRITER AND A FREELANCE CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST FOR THE STAR. WINERIES SPONSOR SEGMENTS ON HER YOUTUBE SERIES BUT DON’T SELECT THE WINES SHE REVIEWS. HER OPINIONS ARE HER OWN. PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. REACH HER VIA EMAIL: CAROLYN@CAROLYNEVANSHAMMOND.COM