Wine Lover’s Blog #2
WW Points Plus assigns Red Wine 1 pt per oz, White Wine .75 pts per oz, and Light Wine @ .50 pts per oz. – OK, reality check here…. My big reds were obviously a culprit … To conserve points I first tried switching to some white wine in the evening with a Red at dinner. Then eliminated the red and switched off to just white, but found that I had a stagnant two weeks. Hmmm, that is when I first noticed that there was a “Light wine” category and I got curious about the manner in which WW assigned the point value to the wines and starting doing some research.
My understanding is that the alcohol by volume listed on the bottle of wine is relevant to the point value with WW. I still can’t completely determine if the Wines fall into 2 or 3 categories: Here is my presumption:
Light Wine is 9-10.5% alc by vol ( ½ pt per oz = 2pts per 4 oz
Medium (WW White) is 10.5 -12.5% alc by vol. ( ¾ pt per oz = 3 pts per 4 oz)
Heavy (WW Red) 13% alc by vol and up @ 1 pt per oz.
While the number of calories and carbs vary by the variety of the grape, in my opinion the WW point plus value is relevant to the sugar (alcohol) content, no matter if it is White or Red or bubbly. The lower alc by vol occurs from grapes that are picked prior to ripening to a higher sugar concentration; consequently the alc by vol is lower.
Well, DAH…. I will take a swirl with the 2 pointers and after lots of poking around a few wine stores, here’s what I found last week.
Prosecco – I choose a Mionetto Prosecco that weighs in at 9.5% alc by vol – YEAH – only 2 pts per 4 oz!! Like other sparkling wines, Prosecco is served chilled to about 45 degrees (30 minutes in the refrig will do it perfectly!). Unlike champagne, Prosecco does not ferment in the bottle and grows stale with time; it should be drunk as young as possible and preferably before it is two years old.
Prosecco is served unmixed appears in several mixed drinks. It was the original main ingredient in the Bellini cocktail and in the Spritz cocktail, can also replace champagne in Mimosa also features in the Italian mixed drink Sgroppino (with vodka and lemon sorbet).
Lexia – Alice White (S. Eastern Australia from the Muscat grape) Lexia Moscato, both 10.5% alc by vol. = 2 pts per 4 oz. Yeah!! The Lexia is a playful white wine with crisp notes of orange blossom, ripe apricot, and peach fruit. I found is to be a bit less s sweet than a White Zinfandel. I used 2 oz of Lexia to make a spritzer of club soda, fresh squeezed lime and fresh squeezed orange on the first really warm spring day we had. Two cocktails only hit me up for 2 pts total… now that’s a good deal:>) This would also make a nice White Sangria. This wine stands up nicely to a spicy Latin, Asian or Middle Eastern meal. Here’s a bonus, spicy hot food increases your metabolism!
Rieslings are great with spicy foods and BBQ. Serve the wine at about 50 degrees because serving a wine too cold will mask its core flavors and bouquet. 50 degrees equates to putting the wine in the refrig 25 minutes before you plan to pour it – or take it out 25 minute ahead of pouring if it had been in the refrig. If you need to chill it in a rush, put the bottle into cold water with some ice in it, which cools it down fast than the freezer! I was on a specific hunt for a Rieslings that is 9.5% alc by vol but didn’t find it… I purchased a delightful 11% er instead (Washington Hills Riesling 2009)
And guess what, I did take pounds off this week!!
I genuinely invite all of you who read my blog to comment, add your opinion and correct me where I may have made an incorrect statement, this way we can all grow!
Disclaimer: I h
ave absolutely no affiliation with any wine distributor, nor do I benefit in any way by mentioning a specific brand over another, I am merely sharing my own research and experience.
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Food, Fun, General