Drinking wine on the Atkins’ diet
I’m currently on the Atkins’ Diet and need to avoid sugar as much as possible. Is red wine always drier than white, or do they vary? What’s the driest wine you know of at a reasonable price (£5 or under)?
If you’re trying to avoid sugar totally, you should steer clear of all wine. Ripe grapes are packed with natural sugars, which are converted to alcohol during the fermentation process.
In general, however, red wines do tend to be drier than whites, with the exception of fortified wines such as Port. There are very few overtly sweet reds, and those that are should be clearly labelled.
If you allow yourself the occasional glass, avoid wines from the New World, where the intense sunshine guarantees very ripe grapes and therefore more natural sugars. A good sound bet is either a Bulgarian Cabernet Sauvignon (around £4) or a standard supermarket Bordeaux claret (about £5–£6).
I’d recommend Kaituna Hills Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2000, Montana, around £6 at Marks & Spencer. It’s dry and crisp with gooseberry-like overtones.
Another of my favourites is Somerfield’s Chablis 1999, La Chablisienne, about £7 – a complex wine that tastes as if it costs over £10 a bottle. It’s excellent with roast chicken, poussin, guinea fowl and duck.
Good luck with the diet.
Also, find out how a low-carb beer fares in our taste test.
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