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Sugarless (sugar free) Wine Question

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lemonhead

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Hi, one of my good friends is diabetic and obviously has to worry about his sugar intake which in turn means he has to watch what alcoholic drinks he consumes and the quantity.

I came across an interesting wine recently, basically my girlfriend knows the owner of a vineyard in South America that produces the only Sugarless Wine in the world. This got me thinking that maybe this might be something that might help (or make life easier) people who are sugar intolerant, like my friend. So I became interested in the wine and have being doing some research on it.

Basically I found that in all wine there is a certain amount of sugar, the drier the wine the less sugar it has, so a sweet wine has a lot of sugar compared to a dry wine. The process of making wine is the sugar in the grapes is turned into alcohol by the yeast, but there is always a residual amount of sugar left over as normally not all the sugar can be converted into alcohol. I am told that this is the only wine in the world that turns all the sugar into alcohol and they have scientific proof to back this up, which I have seen.

I have tried the wine and it takes ok and I was wondering would this be something people who are sugar intolarent would be interested in? my friend who is diabetic doesn't really drink but he seems to think it might be interesting for people who do.

I understand that the alcohol is also an issue, but is a wine with completely no sugar a good thing for diabetics? Obviously diabetics are advised not to drink alcohol anyway but I know many do, so I am interested to know if a wine like this could help people or at least make it easier and more manageable for them to drink if they are going to anyway.

I apologise for my ignorance in this matter but I would be very interested in peoples thoughts on this.
 
Here are three wine descriptions of classic wines taken from the first list I found

Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage 2003. Classic full-bodied Bordeaux-style dinner wine. Complex flavor, rich in tannin, an excellent keeper. No residual sugar.


Cabernet Franc
Vintage 2004. Full-bodied and bone dry with lots of tannin. Completely fermented on the skins, then aged in oak barrels for nearly a year. No residual sugar.


Pinot Noir
Vintage 2003. The classic Burgundy-style dinner wine - dry, light and complex in flavor. Also great with just about any cheese. Will get more and more interesting with age. No residual sugar

Most dry wines have less than 2g/L residual sugar, the maximum normally allowed in the EU for a wine to be called dryis 4g/l . Sweet dessert wines obviously have more, (over 45g/l and some a lot more).
The natural sugars in the grapes are mainly converted to alcohol , sometimes a little sucrose is added in cooler years, a process strictly regulated.
Alcohol can have a lowering effect of on blood glucose levels as it supresses the release of glucose from the liver. I know of one American woman who treats a small glass of red wine like medicine...she hates it but drinks a glass in the evening as it helps stop her early morning rise in glucose levels.
The biggest drawback to drinking wine in moderation for people with diabetes(as long as they don't take a medication which prevents it) is probably the calories.
So no I can't think of any reason to buy a specific South American wine. I'll stick to the huge variety of more readily available ones.
 
Thanks for the extra info Phoenix. The varieties the vineyard produce are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Malbec, Chardonnay, Sparkling and a Rose and they are all completely free from sugar.

As you suggest dry wines contain the least residual sugar but I dont think there are any wines avaialble in the uk that are completely free from sugar (no residual sugar), but maybe thats because there isn't really a demand or need for such wines.
 
Honestly I don't think that the less than 2-4g/l sugar as per regulations would bother even the most fervent low carber. It adds to the character and frankly some of the cheap bone dry wines from Bordeaux are too astringent for most people.
There are many wines available in the UK which claim no residual sugar... whether a miniscule amount would be detected by a scientific test, I've no idea. You'll probably find it mentioned more on wine merchants lists as bottles aren't labelled that way in supermarkets)
Heres a statement from a Telegraph offer 'various Valpolicella grapes are harvested and dried prior to fermentation. The wine is fully fermented leaving no residual sugar'

Sorry to cast doubt on your idea
 
Red wine was my drink of choice until I was diagnosed in December 2009. My DN told me that beer was better than wine so I now drink more lager and have almost cut out wine totally.

Is my DN wrong to suggest beer over wine ?
 
I hadn't seen that wine Phoenix, thank you for pointing it out, it costs around £30 a bottle so would certainly be out of most peoples budget, I haven't seen many other wines in the UK with no residual sugar yet, but please let me know if you find anymore. I think no residual sugar equals low carbs as well but calorie wise all dry wines seem to be very similar as they still have similar percentages in alcohol. But still not sure if these types of wine can help diabetics who wish to drink wine.

Frenchman, I'm not really qualified to answer your question, but as far as I was aware a dry red wine would contain less calories and sugar than a regular lager (Stella, Peroni, Kronenbourg). But there are low carb or light beers out there like Michelob Ultra that have less sugar and carbs. Obviously it also depends on the quantities and how it effects you as some people will react differently to certain types of alcohols.

Maybe someone else with a better knowledge on this can comment further??!!
 

Hi lemonhead,

People with diabetes are not told to drink unless there are other medical issues at hand. I was told that drinking alcohol was fine, but to be careful of the carb content of some alcoholic drinks, and the effect it can have later in the evening or the following morning, meaning alcohol can raise blood sugars then make them plummet hours later (hypo). The general advice is to drink in moderation and sensibly.

I don't have any problems with red wine, it neither raises my bg or lowers it, but as with all things with diabetes, we all react differently, so it would be wise for your friend to be cautious and test regularly when drinking and after the occasion.

Nigel
 
Frenchman,
Nigels remarks about alcohol are correct. I don't know why you DN suggested that beer was preferable to a glass of red wine. I think that you should ask her why, there may be something you are taking that reacts with wine. Otherwise, there are more carbs in beer and there may be some ingredients in red wine that help protect the cardiovascuar system.
I live in France, when I was first diagnosed the dietitian went through the hospital menu with me, on the dinner menu there is always 25cl red wine. She warned me against it; not because I shouldn't drink wine , but because 'it wasn't a very good wine'. (and since then I've often had wine with lunch on diabetes courses at the hospital)
 
I forget to mention the wine is around 11% so a low alcohol content compared to most wines, so not sure if that makes much of a difference.
 
I notice that some diabetics talk about a small glass of red wine being for good medicinal purposes.
My Endo (knowing that I have a huge problem limiting my alcohol) said that I could allow myself one and a half glasses of dry white wine a week! Yes, that was per week. Wonder why he did not suggest red wine?
I do find low carb beer does not do me much harm BGL wise or weight gain wise. If I am having white wine then I usually opt for a dry one and one low in alcohol and that works well, until I tell myself that that glass didn't do me any harm so I might just have another........................
Alison
 
clearviews said:
I
My Endo (knowing that I have a huge problem limiting my alcohol) said that I could allow myself one and a half glasses of dry white wine a week! Yes, that was per week. Wonder why he did not suggest red wine?

Alison
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Maybe because white is normally a bit lower in alcohol, and Aussie reds are relatively high (all that hot weather)
 
Thanx Phoenix,
Wise Endo. He is nearly always right, so I should have realised there was a good reason.
Alison
 
Thank you for all your comments guys, so is it safe to say that a sugarless (sugar free) relatively low alcoholic (11.4%) wine would not be something that could help someone who wants to drink wine but suffers from diabetes?
 
I live in a wine and olive producing area of France.

My GP says :

"red wine is good for cardio vascular problems, but may be bad for some cancers - so, don't have more than 50cl per day."

"olive oil is better than other fats and does not need to be limited"

My stomach specialist said "people with ulcers must limit wine consumption to 40cl per day"

I can see why the French health system is so highly regarded in international comparisons :wink:

Peter
 
Lemonhead I feel the idea of sugarless or NO sugar in wine is fantastic. Not only for the diabetics/ but for all of us who have Ulcerative Colitis and/or Crohn's disease. Bacteria cannot tolerate sugar so they are told to go on a no carb or low carb diet. Most of us like to have a drink and worry later of the consequences. But to be able to add to our diet and still socialize and enjoy a glass of wine would be heaven. Stay on track here, great idea.
 

Sugar free wine. Big style! I cant believe she didn't sell it and become a millionaire. There are 700 calories in average bottle of wine. You did not mention the name of the wine brand or where to buy it. Please email and or post the full details.
 
MikeS2017 said:
Sugar free wine. Big style! I cant believe she didn't sell it and become a millionaire. There are 700 calories in average bottle of wine. You did not mention the name of the wine brand or where to buy it. Please email and or post the full details.
Click to expand...
Think you might be waiting in vain - this thread is nearly 7 years old and the OP didn't come back after this post so is probably long gone - as a side note sugarless doesn't necessarily equal less calories- you are best having a glass or two of a good red or dry white wine
 
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