Re: wine without the sugar

Not really, Colonel Baxter. Sugar is THE sina quo non in wine-making.

The sugar is converted by the yeast into alcohol and carbon-dioxide. In a still (i.e. not sparkling) wine, the CO2 is lost. Without sugar, the juice will remain juice. With sugar, the juice will become alcohol, with little or no sugar remaining.

However, sugar will NOT make you fat. Nor will alcohol.

Sugar is pure carbohydrate. It has 45 calories per tablespoon.

Alcohol is pure carbohydrate. Dry wine has 75-80 calories per glass. Sweet wine has 140 calories per glass.

Fat, in any form has 90-100 calories per tablespoon, twice as many calories per volume as carbohydrates --- which is why the body stores excess calories in the form of fat, rather than in the form of carbohydrate. When the body needs reserve energy, it converts the stored fat back to carbohydrates.

Obviously, cutting down on one's fat intake will be twice as effective as cutting down on one's intake of carbohydrates. Furthermore, the body cannot metabolise fat without the presence of carbohydrates, and will metabolise stored protein (muscle tissue) instead, through a process called ketosis. Thus, any weight loss in a "low-carbohydrate" diet is due to loss of muscle mass, not adipose tissue.

However, fat is also a necessary dietary intake, so a fat-free diet will create other health problems. And any excess calories, whether they are from fat, carbs, or proteins, will be stored as fat!

If you wish to control your weight, or lose adipose tissue, you need to cut down on total caloric intake, retaining a balance of ~ 15-25 % fat, 50-70 % carbohydrate, and 15-25 % protein (the exact amounts are subject of great debate, and related to life style) --- and exercise. One or two glasses of wine with each meal are not going to have any significant effect.

A brisk walk to and from the pub will probably burn up any calories obtained from your drink, and a brisk walk round the block after meals will aid digestion as well as figure.