Wine with alcohol content lower than the usual 12-14%

Re: Lower volume wine

Very true. I know of one largeish law firm who had a winetasting event where most people, blindtasting, preferred Blue Nun to any of the more "acceptable" ( ahem!) whites.

I'm afraid I would be one of the great unwashed when it comes to wine so am happy to stick with the lower end of the price range for the Friday night slump in front of the fire.

mf

Some good wines at the low end though - Wolf Blass President's Selection isn't expensive and it's pretty good. Yellowtail (cheaper again) do quite good wines too!
 
Re: Lower volume wine

Some good wines at the low end though - Wolf Blass President's Selection isn't expensive and it's pretty good. Yellowtail (cheaper again) do quite good wines too!

Why thank you Caveat - I'll try them out and raise a glass to you.

mf
 
Re: Lower volume wine

Some good wines at the low end though - Wolf Blass President's Selection isn't expensive and it's pretty good. Yellowtail (cheaper again) do quite good wines too!

Good or bad in wine (provided it is in proper condition) is a matter of personal taste. Those of us whose preferred wines are not very expensive are fortunate.
 
Hi all

Just been downtown in my quest - couldn't find anything in Dunnes or M&S under 12%, maybe I wasn't looking hard enough but felt I'd checked the backs of most of the bottles there ;)

Went to Berry Bros to ask, they told me about Muscadat (??) or something that sounded like that which is 5% but didn't sound like what I was looking for. I then tried the Corkscrew beside Nearys and I ended up buying a dry white German Reisling which is 11% - not really as low as I wanted and would never go for a german wine normally. Couldn't find a red that sounded low enough. Am giving the Reisling to my mother as a belated Mother's Day present as she was the one who originally asked me about low(er) volume wines...

thanks for all the help so far

M
 
Re: Lower volume wine

go to some wine tastings and taste some of the half decent ones.
they are a good aperatif and believe it or not in a random audience of 100 - more will enjoy liebfraumilch than champange.

it doesn't fit in with wine snobbery celtic tiger claret theroy, but its improved a lot.
Yes, it's all very well meatmonger if you like grapejuice but a nice full bodied wine is far nicer. I startd off on Blue Nun about 45 years ago. It was all the rage in Canada in those days. And although of French extraction, I never tasted French wine 'til in my late teens. I've been down the Rhine Gorge a few times and Liebfraumilch would not figure highly in decent restaurant menus. However, whatever floats your boat :)
 
Why thank you Caveat - I'll try them out and raise a glass to you.

mf

No problem - hope you enjoy.

Good or bad in wine (provided it is in proper condition) is a matter of personal taste. Those of us whose preferred wines are not very expensive are fortunate.

Yes, you're right but put it this way - I remember reading some 'wine reviewers' (can't remember who exactly) singling out the ones I mentioned as being good quality bottles for the money. Or maybe more specifically, good lower cost examples of a particular grape/year etc. It was this that led me to try them. So called really good wine would probably be wasted on me anyway.
 
That brand of Rose I mentioned last night is called Rivercrest - its by Gallo.

The OH only drinks Rose so I am not sure if their red/white wine is also 9%.

[broken link removed]
 
Muscadet is not particularly low in alcohol content. The one I have just checked is 12.5%. That is exactly the same as the Riesling I have in stock (the main production ir Riesling is in France -- just about: in Alsasce).

Both are quite different from Liebfraumilch, being quite dry.

Some French people water their wine.
 
Maybe it wasn't Muscadet he said - sounded something like that though - both Berry Bros and the Corkscrew mentioned it was 5%. Anyway, the one I bought is Georg Breuer Riesling Sauvage 2007 with 11% volume..

M
 
Tesco used to sell a wine with something like 9.5%. I think it was from the McGuigan estate in Australia but can't remember the exact one. Can't comment on taste. You should be able to find something around 10% but it is probably not easy. The trend for higher alcohol content due to the success of new world wines has meant that very few wine producers will produce anything less than 10%
 
You're either at the races or not...Can't beat a good 14% pinit noir just after a large Dubonnet with ice and followed by a brace of good cognacs!
 
Normally drink red but have had a german reisling called Dr. Loosen on a couple of occasion and it was fine. The alcohol content was 8.5%. It cost €11 in the local wine shop but don't know if it is stocked in the major supermarkets.
 
Re: Lower volume wine

Yes, it's all very well meatmonger if you like grapejuice but a nice full bodied wine is far nicer.

you're entitled to your tastes, and the great thing about wine is there is something for everyone. so that should keep you happy

Blue nun days have passed thank god, and this wine, and lots of other german wines have moved on too. like i said, most will actually prefer it as an aperitif to champagne.

enjoy
 
Re: Lower volume wine

That drove me to check my stock of French reds. The lowest alcohol content is 12.5%, and the highest is 14%.

As a general rule the hotter the country the higher the sugar content of the grape. Since it’s the sugars that are converted into alcohol the higher the sugar content the higher the alcohol content.
From this link;
Due to the colder climate, most northern European wine growing regions have a shorter growing season than New World wine regions. Therefore, northern European grapes have less time to ripen and have lower sugar levels than New World grapes. The result is Old World wines of high acid, low sugar (alcohol 12.5%), relatively low fruitiness and high longevity versus New World wines of low acid, high sugar (alcohol 14.5+%), high fruitiness and relatively low longevity.
 
I bought Vallee Blanche 11.5% in Dunnes Clonakilty yesterday, reduced to half price €6.50, very nice too; its French Sauvignon Blanc,
 
Re: Lower volume wine

you're entitled to your tastes, and the great thing about wine is there is something for everyone. so that should keep you happy

Blue nun days have passed thank god, and this wine, and lots of other german wines have moved on too. like i said, most will actually prefer it as an aperitif to champagne.

enjoy
OK meatmonger, I'll buy a couple of bottles this weekend and gve it a go. The last time that 'my girlfriend's milk' passed my lips was probably 35 years ago. So I may have a sightly jaundiced memory :) Will post results ;)
 
Re: Lower volume wine

OK meatmonger, I'll buy a couple of bottles this weekend and gve it a go. The last time that 'my girlfriend's milk' passed my lips was probably 35 years ago. So I may have a sightly jaundiced memory :) Will post results ;)

picture aperatif and see how it works.

I'm a fan of full bodied wines too, all wines in fact. but this is specifically an aperatif and costs £4-£5 sterling a bottle.
 
As a general rule, new world wines will tend to be stronger in alcohol because of the warm climates which allow grapes to ripen more fully and thus contain more sugar which turns into alcohol during the fermentation process. This also applies to some extent to wines from southern Europe but those from northern Europe should be lower in alcohol because of cooler summers. If you're looking for low alcohol wines, the best places are northern France (Loire valley, Alsace) and Germany. Ask your wine shop for advice. Enjoy. :)
 
... If you're looking for low alcohol wines, the best places are northern France (Loire valley, Alsace) and Germany. Ask your wine shop for advice. Enjoy. :)

A lot of the wines I have are from the Loire or Alsasce. All over 12% alcohol content.
 
It's a great question, we used to be of the strongest bottle possible for as little money as possible but have changed to Rose (from Provence) as it's generally lower alcohol than other wines. Plus you can ice cubes to it to further water it down. Also like the Lindemans low alcohol white, not so gone on the red.
 
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