Alcohol in wine is produced during the wine making process when the sugars in the grape ferment to alcohol. Therefore less sugar to convert, means less alcohol in the resultant wine.

Wine companies around the world, in an attempt to meet the demands of the increasingly calorie conscious customers especially women who tend to be weight-watchers, are now manipulating the wine making process to produce wines with alcohol levels at 10% abv or less, as against wines that would normally be upto 13% - 14% abv. This can be done by picking the grapes early during harvest or by growing grapes in cooler regions or climates, both of which slows down the development of sugar in grapes.

A wine therefore, which is dry (not sweet) and relatively low in alcohol will be your best bet for a low calorie intake. Excellent examples of such wine in whites are some German Rieslings, eg, Ulrich Langguth Riesling which has 10% abv. or Chablis from the Burgundy region in France, eg, Domaine Hemelin Chablis at 12% abv.

Sparkling wines from Italy like Dezzani Asti Spumante has 7.5% abv, Luna Argenta Prosecco (Italy) has 11% abv. From France, Grandial Blanc de Blanc at 11% abv is also a good low alcohol option.

In reds, it is more difficult to find lower alcohol levels but light, easy drinking fruity wines like Bardolino from Italy (11.5% abv) and George du Boeuf Beaujolais Villages at 12.5% are good options.

A useful tip to know is that the label must always carry the alcohol content in the bottle, so look out for it.

Low Calorie Wines available in India
WHITE
Ulrich Langguth Riesling, 10% abv.
Domaine Hemelin Chablis, 12% abv.
Dezzani Asti Spumante, 7.5% abv.
Luna Argenta Prosecco, 11% abv.
Grandial Blanc de Blanc, 11% abv.
RED
Bardolino from Italy, 11.5% abv.
George du Boeuf Beaujolais Villages, 12.5% abv.