I'm sensing that the low-carbohydrate diet fad that began years ago is making a bit of a comeback.

I don't have any strong opinions regarding these diets.

However, a few friends and family who did cut back on carbohydrates did lose anywhere between five and 20 pounds.

Recently the sales of low-carbohydrate wines have increased. As a result, I decided to take a closer look at these

wines in comparison to regular wines to see if there was any validity in drinking low-carb wines in order to lose weight.

Let me begin with comparing the carb content of beer versus the carb content of wine.

An average beer has 10 to 12 grams of carbohydrates from one gram of alcohol. Meanwhile, dry white and red wines have three to four grams of carbs.

The carbohydrate substance is the result of grapes being high-carb plants to begin with, and the process of fermentation removes much of the carb content but not all of it.

The sweeter the wine, the more carbohydrates it contains. Off-dry whites contain about six grams of carbs whereas dessert wines add up to more than 20 grams of carbs.

In other words, the drier the wine, the fewer carbohydrates it contains.

The human body uses the calories from alcohol first and then uses or stores the carbohydrate calories.

The most popular low-carbohydrate wines on the shelves these days are Stonybrook Vineyards One. 6 Chardonnay as well as One. 9 Merlot hailing from California.

The label speaks for itself; the Chardonnay contains 1.6 grams of carbs while the Merlot contains 1.9 grams of carbs.

Now before you think some kind of Frankenstein lab methods were used to lower the carbohydrate content, I found out that the winery had measured the carbs from all its vineyards. From doing this, they found the grapes with the fewest carbs to produce the wines.

The proof is in the taste, however.

In sampling the Chardonnay, I found it a bit lacking in both fruit intensity and flavour. It was mellow on the palate; however, it lacked finish and any sort of complexity.

The Merlot was a touch better. It had cranberry and cherry flavours, and was medium-bodied, quite dry and a bit on the acidic side for a California Merlot.

So there you have it: the wines are average at best and the carbohydrate count contains a few fewer grams than regular wines.

If you think those extra reduced carbohydrates will help, by all means drink Stonybrook and other lowcarb wines.

I think I'll sacrifice the extra carbs for better-tasting dry wines.

If you do go on an Atkins diet, however, you may want to stick to vodka and club soda, since it contains zero grams of carbs!

- John Gerum is a wine instructor, writer and consultant with West Coast Wine Education. For information on upcoming wine tastings, workshops, classes and clubs please visit www.wcwed.com.