WASHINGTON – It is growing in popularity in Britain and Australia. But is low-alcohol wine taking off in the D.C. area?
Josh Genderson, owner of Schneider’s on Capitol Hill, says he’s had a few requests for it, but there really isn’t much of a demand.
Genderson says those who come into his store looking for low-alcohol wines basically fall into two camps: They want to cut the buzz or cut the calories.
Most of the calories in wine come from the alcohol, and low-alcohol wines are 5.5 percent ABV (alcohol by volume). Mainstream wines are about 13 percent.
But there’s a problem. When the alcohol produced by the sugar in the wine grapes is taken out, it messes with the taste.
Genderson says it is removed at the end of the wine-making process, and often dilution is involved.
He says there isn’t one low-alcohol wine on the market that he considers drinkable, and there is none to be found in his store.
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