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



## muffin1973 (25 Mar 2009)

Hi all,

Was just wondering if anyone knew of any wines (red or white) that have a lower volume that the usual 12-14%?  Had a bottle of wine the other night in a restaurant and practically fell asleep at the table as it was 14.5% and we hadn't thought to check this in advance 

We tend to drink red more than white, and I've googled it but it seems there's no such thing as a proper red wine under about 12%??  I know rose/white zinfandel is normally lower but wouldn't really drink much of until the summer so really would be more interested in red wine suggestions.

Thanks,

M


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## mathepac (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

Drink less then the % alcohol v/v becomes irrelevant.


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## Tayto2 (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

Hi there,

Weightwatchers do a Riesling and a red (not sure what exactly) that are only 9%. I've only tried the white which is surprisingly quite drinkable. I know Superquinn and Dunnes stock them. Not much use if you're in a restaurant but give it a try at home...


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## muffin1973 (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

Great Tayto - thanks!

Mathepac - no chance 

M


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## Padraigb (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



muffin1973 said:


> Great Tayto - thanks!
> 
> Mathepac - no chance



I'd prefer to go with mathepac's advice. I think it is better to select a wine on the basis of how much it appeals to my palate than on the basis of alcohol content (but it is a good idea to note the alcohol content, and let that be a guide on how much to drink). Two glasses of a wine I like are worth more to me than three of a wine that I don't particularly care for.


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## Tomodinhio (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

Drink Ribena instead


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## maybelline (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

Lindemanns do an Early Harvest wine in both red and white (grapes picked earlier, so less sugar, so less alcohol etc etc), they're about 8 or 9 % and aren't _too_ bad, but you do notice the difference after normally drinking something that's almost 14% 
Also there's a sparkling wine that only 5% by an Australian brand, name is something like Bros Brothers or Brook Brothers, can't remember at the moment.
All available in Dunnes.


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## Caveat (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

I'm with Padraigb on this.


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## huskerdu (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

French wines used to be traditionally between 10-13% New World wines are often higher. However, france is followinghe trend of higher alcohol content ( or at least the french wine stocked in Ireland. In France it is easy to find a wine with 9 or 10% alcohol(. 
Try superquinn or somewhere else that has a good selection of french wines and see what you can find.


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## athens2004 (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

The weightwatchers red is awful, its like a white coloured red and if you dont like white you will hate it...


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## Sue Ellen (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

My anti-freeze, sorry wine Liebfraumilch is only 9%, doesn't give a hangover and I like it.  Find the 13% wines too strong and just make me go to sleep.  Have a terrible habit of drinking alcohol as if it is a mineral and at least you can get away with doing this with this refreshing and light one.


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## Purple (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

New World wines usually have the higher alcohol content.
Stick with the French stuff.


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## Padraigb (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



Purple said:


> New World wines usually have the higher alcohol content.
> Stick with the French stuff.



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


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## meatmonger (25 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*

try some of the chiantis,
this is a more common trend in the last 18 months.

PS, some good german wines including liebfraumilch now available.
big improvements.  perfect and affordable aperatif.


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## RMCF (26 Mar 2009)

I've come across a few Rose wines recently that have been on special offer at local winemarts, and I noticed that they are 9% vol.

This is a nice figure if you are just having a quiet drink with a meal, as it doesn't give you the head the next morning even if you polish off the full bottle!!!

I will get the name of the last one I tried and post tomorrow. Think it was Californian anyway.


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## HighFlier (26 Mar 2009)

A lot of the German and Austrian whites are low in alcohol 9% to 11%. Also some French wines from the Alcasce area made in the German Style.
Be careful though there are a few German Whites that go to 14%+ e.g. Gewurtztraminer. That one looks and tastes like the light ones but will blow your head off!


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## Caveat (26 Mar 2009)

I thought that e.g. Claret was generally a bit lower in alcohol than Burgundy - but maybe a bit of a generalisation.


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## Chocks away (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



meatmonger said:


> try some of the chiantis,
> this is a more common trend in the last 18 months.
> 
> PS, some good german wines including liebfraumilch now available.
> ...


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## meatmonger (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



Chocks away said:


> meatmonger said:
> 
> 
> > Liebfraumilch! You are of course joking. Aren't you?
> ...


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## mf1 (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



meatmonger said:


> Chocks away said:
> 
> 
> > go to some wine tastings and taste some of the half decent ones.
> ...


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## Caveat (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



mf1 said:


> 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!


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## mf1 (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



Caveat said:


> 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


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## Padraigb (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



Caveat said:


> 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.


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## muffin1973 (26 Mar 2009)

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


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## Chocks away (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



meatmonger said:


> Chocks away said:
> 
> 
> > go to some wine tastings and taste some of the half decent ones.
> ...


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## Caveat (26 Mar 2009)

mf1 said:


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


 
No problem - hope you enjoy.



Padraigb said:


> 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.


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## RMCF (26 Mar 2009)

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]


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## Padraigb (26 Mar 2009)

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.


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## muffin1973 (26 Mar 2009)

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


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## Sunny (26 Mar 2009)

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%


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## Firefly (26 Mar 2009)

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!


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## Shawady (26 Mar 2009)

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.


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## meatmonger (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



Chocks away said:


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


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## Purple (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



Padraigb said:


> 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. _


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## mudahawn (26 Mar 2009)

I bought Vallee Blanche 11.5% in Dunnes Clonakilty yesterday, reduced to half price €6.50, very nice too; its French Sauvignon Blanc,


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## Chocks away (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



meatmonger said:


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


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## meatmonger (26 Mar 2009)

*Re: Lower volume wine*



Chocks away said:


> meatmonger said:
> 
> 
> > 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
> ...


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## Omega (26 Mar 2009)

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.


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## Padraigb (26 Mar 2009)

Omega said:


> ... 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.


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## Bronte (27 Mar 2009)

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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## Pique318 (27 Mar 2009)

Brown Brothers do a nice light red wine called Tarrango which is 12% i think.

Real summery drink, not a heavy red at all.


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## Omega (27 Mar 2009)

Padraigb said:


> .....A lot of the wines I have are from the Loire or Alsasce. All over 12% alcohol content.....


There has been a tendency in recent years to maker stronger wines in marginal vine-growing regions like northern Europe where wines traditionally would have had lower alcohol content, due to perceived market demand, largely driven by the popularity of high strength, fruity new world wines. For example, twenty years ago, Muscadet would typically have had an average strength of about 9.5%, whereas today it's probably more likely to be a few degrees above this. As a general rule, though, this is the place where the lowest alcohol content wines should be found.


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