wine YOU CAN STILL ENJOY
WINE ON A DIET by Carolyn Bosworth-Davies
J
anuary is the season of diets, detoxing and over ambitious resolutions! Despite many worthy schemes that we embark upon, by
the middle of the month, our resolve weakens and our well intentioned plans are quickly forgotten. Whatever diet you decide to follow, my father, a GP, always used to say it comes down to calories. Sticking to counting calories is the only way to successfully loose weight. Drinks, and particularly alcohol, are a big source of calories. I believe we would have a less of a problem with girl teenage drinking, if calories, rather than units, were clearly marked on bottles of Alco pops. For instance, two drinks of a Smirnoff Ice are just over 2 units in alcohol but are 350 calories. There is a very useful website
www.drinkaware.co.uk where there is a unit/calorie calculator. By referring to this you can factor in the calories that you are taking in as part of your diet. The problem with calories that we
take in with alcohol is that they are empty calories in that they have no nutritional value, and indeed after a drink or two our appetite and the desire to nibble increases. But don’t think that I am saying that
you should give up drinking – especially not wine, as I do subscribe to the view that it is one of the most pleasurable and sociable activities that you can enjoy with your friends. As with everything it is a question of balance. A couple of AFDs – Alcohol Free
Days – a week is better than abstaining totally, and then going on a binge on the weekends. Incorporating wine as part of your life style is what people in wine producing countries do, and their health and life span statistics are much better than ours in the UK. If you are a wine drinker, then a highly
readable buy is Roger Corder’s book entitled The Wine Diet, available on Amazon. It not only explains the benefits of drinking wine, but provides recipes that will help you develop a healthier way of eating.
Alcohol free wine (defined in law as under 0.5%) or low or de-alcoholised wine, which is more than 0.5% but less than 5.5%, are rarely inspiring in my view, often lacking texture and having rather unnatural chemical flavours. The Muscat grape seems to work best in this category and Torres, Natureo 2011( Waitrose £5.99), from Spain has pleasing grapey aromas and peach flavours on the palate. The wine is made normally, then goes through a special technology called ‘rotating cone column’ that separates out the alcohol, which is then removed from the wine. An average glass of wine has around 90-100 calories, but this has only around 15 - 20. For me it is better to drink wine from grape varieties that produce, or are made with lower levels of alcohol. My choices would be vibrant fruity German Rieslings that are balanced with refreshing acidity. Try the Naked Grape Riesling 2010 Pfalz, Germany (£7.49 Waitrose), which is off-dry and comes in at 11.5%. Alternatively, look out for wines from the Semillon grape from Australia, which are picked early to maintain acidity, and are often 10 or 11%. Great examples are Peter Lehmann’s Barossa Semillon at Tesco (£7.50) or the Hunter Valley ‘Taste the Difference’ Semillon at £8.99, unoaked and packed full of citrus and honeysuckle flavours and only 10.5% in alcohol.
Otherwise why not take a wine course with me, which will teach you how to drink less but better.
Phone the Conservatoire on 020 8852 0234 for details.
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon 2012
Peninsula Chinese Restaurant
★ Chinese New Year ★ ENTERTAINMENT NIGHT AT
26th January 2012. 7pm to 10.30pm Amazing lion dancing performance at 7pm
Special Chinese Menu Menu A: £398 (for 10 persons) Menu B: £38 (Minimum 4 persons)
Join us at this special evening to experience a true Chinese New Year celebration with a full-length lion dance, lucky dip and spectacular prizes to be won.
1st Prize £300 Peninsula vouchers 2nd Prize £150 cash 3rd Prize £100 Vouchers
This is an opportunity NOT TO BE MISSED! Book early to avoid disappointment
Tel: 020 8858 2028 and ask for Mr Wang, Miss Chan or Mr. Woo
www.mychinesefood.co.uk Bugsbys way, Greenwich SE10
Prices include VAT. A 10% service charge will be added to your bill. All items are subject to availability & may change without notice. A non-refundable deposit of £80 (Menu A) or £50 (Menu B) is required to secure the booking.
RISTORANTE ✦ Listings
ITALIAN ✦ Restaurant
Set Menu Tuesday - Friday £17.95
80 High Street ✦ Bexley ✦ Kent 01322 529905/559021
Sunday Lunch £14.95 Closed all day Monday
www.bexleyitalian.co.uk
Modern Indian Restaurant & Takeaway Fully Licensed & Air Conditioned
FREE HOME DELIVERY on orders over £13.50 (3 mile radius)
10% DISCOUNT on orders over £15 on collection
VALENTINE’S BOOKINGS BEING TAKEN
♥ ♥ 5 Mill Row (under Railway Arch) Bexley High Street Bexley Kent DA5 1LA
Tel: 01322 551122 or 01322 557340 Monday-Saturday 6-11.30 Sunday 5.30-11
www.baltizer.co.uk
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