During a recent trip to Toronto, I learned a shocking fact about wine that may not necessarily put Italy to shame, but it certainly does for America – or rather the sales of wines in America. Unlike Ontario, Canada, where by law, sugar content levels for wine are clearly displayed, the US does not make this information available. It appears to be yet another example of putting profits ahead of people.
Previously, I referenced the fact that other countries – Canada included, historically banned substances, chemicals and foods that were deemed unhealthy and / or toxic to public health versus the US. In the US, the profits to be made by the pervasive production of processed, high sugar foods has directly contributed to the diabetes epidemic that’s grip is spanning across the ages, affecting young adults and pre-teens. As an adult fighting to reverse the threat of pre-diabetes, I was told that a glass of red wine is good for this battle. What I wasn’t told is that wine can have anywhere from 2 grams to well over 200 grams of sugar per bottle. How did I find out…?
While visiting a liquor store in Canada this month, I was looking for an organic wine. One of the sales clerks tried diligently to find a bottle that met all my Mafia Niece criteria:
- Organic
- Red
- Preferably, not aged in Oak
- Dry, but easily drinkable on its own without food (what I call a “bathtub wine”)
- No Cabernet
- No Merlot
- A Pinot Noir or comparable
- Nothing from Canada, Chile or Argentina
After sifting through every wine aisle in the store, the clerk found an organic Bonterra Zinfandel. Thinking that Zinfandel was sweet as is the case with white zinfandels, she pointed to the label.
“Only 4 grams of sugar in this bottle,” she said.
How did she know? It was clearly printed on the price label for the wine. LCBO (The Liqour Control Board of Ontario), the government agency that manages liquor distribution and sales in the province, mandates labeling of sugar content. She readily compared this to a Chianti I was eying that contained a mere 2 grams of sugar, making it very dry and potentially puckery. Easy comparison. It was on the sales label on the shelf in front of the bottle.
Funny enough, during a wine tasting in Niagara later this same week, I inquired about the sugar content in the region’s famous “ice wine” made from grapes frozen on the vine. I guessed 40 grams but was informed that I was way off as this bottle had 240 grams of sugar. My apologies, again, to the otherwise blissfully ignorant tasters on my tour who were no longer inclined to imbibe. What does it say that a region whose major revenue depends on the sales and consumption of sugar-rich ice wine and that produces 90% of the world’s ice wine, still put people ahead of profits by ensuring the sugar content was clearly communicated on the label?
So, what exactly is on the label of the same wines sold in the US? Brand, Wine type (class), AVA (American Viticultural Area), Varietal, Alcohol content, Vintage, Name and address of the bottler or producer preceded by the words ‘Bottled by’, or ‘Produced and bottled by’ if the wine was bottled at the winery which made it, Volume of the bottle (or other container) may be stated in fluid ounces (fl.oz), liters (l) or milliliters (ml) and Sulfite declaration for all wines containing more than 10 parts per million of sulfur dioxide. Wines optionally labeled as ‘Organic’ must be free of any artificially added sulfites, and Government health warnings are a mandatory requirement for all alcoholic beverages on sale in the United States.
But no sign of sugar content.
For a country like the US where diabetes is an epidemic, wouldn’t mandating information about the level of sugar in our wine make sense? Doctors and diabetes pundits recommend red wine but they never recommend the best red wine with regard to sugar content. Who would have thought that it would be easier to find good wine that’s good for you in Canada? At least that nice little Chianti I also considered at LCBO had only 2% sugar, so when in doubt, an Italian Chianti Reserva may do nicely. Salute!, Cin Cin!
