Profile – The Copenhagen Sparkling Tea Company
In 2009, Jacob Kocemba, head sommelier at the Michelin-starred restaurant Hermann in Copenhagen, faced a challenge. He needed the right wine pairing for a new wild forest strawberry dessert, and despite the fact that Jacob had a cellar containing over 1,700 wines and had himself tasted thousands of others, he couldn’t think of a single […]
Top 5 Sparkling Drinks for the Summer
Summer is nearly here and with it the promise of delightful al fresco picnics, dinners in the garden and outdoor parties – not least all those much postponed weddings. And sophisticated hosts will be wondering what they can offer their guests who might like something lighter to drink in the heat. So here are The […]
Does Low Alcohol Mean Low Calories Too?
Drinking low or no alcohol drinks can be a great way to cut down on calories. There’s a large selection of virtually zero calorie spirits and botanicals which can be drunk with, say, a sugar-free tonic to give you a lovely long, very low calorie drink. You can see our full selection of over 60 […]
Top Tips for Using our Website
Here are a few top tips on features which allow you to get the most our of our website. Bookmarks. If you’ve found a drink you want to remember, you can “bookmark” it. On the product details page, just below the product photo, you will see an “Add to Bookmarks” button. Click on this and […]
Newsletter #1 – April 2022
Dear Friends of TLD Thank you so much for signing up for our newsletter. We have now reviewed more that 180 drinks and we’re in touch with many of the manufacturers. We’re building up our social media presence – you can follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook. We’ve even had a tour of Adnams, with […]
Lower alcohol wines in the mainstream
Really nice today to see a lower alcohol wine (the 8.5% 2020 Dr Loosen Slate Hill Riesling) being included in “Wines to try this month” by Will Lyons writing in the Sunday Times magazine. I’m not surprised that Will has chosen to highlight Dr Loosen – as Will says, “Ernie Loosen is one of the […]
The Lower Alcohol Drinks Landscape
So you want to reduce your alcohol intake but still have all the pleasures of imbibing the drinks you love? Well we have good and bad news for you; for some this is eminently possible but for others the lower alcohol drinks landscape is still a barren wasteland. Beers, Lagers and Ciders Probably the best […]
You say Muscat, I say Moscato
Muscat grapes are one of the great friends of The Lighter Drinker, producing as they some very low ABV, naturally fermented wines starting at around 5%. These grapes have their origins in the Piedmont Region of Italy, where they are known as Moscato. The name is also used in the USA where the anglicised Muscatel […]
How are lower alcohol wines made?
Making wines with a lower alcohol content basically comes down to four options, each with different pros and cons. These are: Put less sugar in. Alcohol is made from sugar during fermentation – put less sugary grapes in and inevitably there will be less alcohol. Sounds fine, but will low sugar grapes also have all […]
Lambrusco – time to give it a second chance
Lambrusco comes from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy – home of Parmesan cheese, Prosciutto ham, Balsamic vinegar, Sangiovese wine and Ferrari cars. The capital Bologna is considered the food capital of Italy (and so arguably of the world) and the region’s most notorious and ancient wine is Lambrusco. I say notorious because in the […]
Vinho Verde – the Supermarket Special
The Vinho Verde region of Portugal produces a rich vein for The Light Drinker to explore – typically lower ABV, naturally crisp dry wines with a delightful spritz, rounded flavours and an attractive calorie count. They are amongst my favourite drinks, especially as a refresher on a hot day or summer’s night. The region is […]
Riesling Wines – True Greats
The Riesling grape is considered to be one of the three great grapes in the world, the other two being Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. But because the majority of production is in Germany, whose wines have not achieved much recognition in the UK, these wines are often overlooked. Wrongly so in my opinion. For a […]
