It’s easy to think that everyone is entranced by terroir, dreams about Burgundy and knows that Montalcino and Montepulciano involve different grapes. Yet the sheer reality is that most people just want a nice thing to drink at night in front of the tele. And the other reality is that more and more consumers are conscious of how much they drink, and would prefer if their favourite alcoholic beverage had a lower ABV.

Enter wines like this Giesen Pure Light Sauvignon Blanc 2022.

Sitting at just 6% alcohol and with a nutrition label (48 calories per serving), it’s another reminder of how far/how important reduced alcohol wine can be. What’s more, Giesen is right at the vanguard – you can read my interview with Giesen winemaker Duncan Shouler for perspective too. Vintage is only in small font on the back label, a nod to the priorities here.

So what’s it like? It’s pretty correct, really. Herbal, lightly grassy, passionfruity, thiol-heavy ‘classic’ nose. Juicy, just off-dry palate is sound, and though it feels a little like fruit juice on the finish, it is very much a solid, dry, commercial Sauv. It’s short (you lose texture/sweetness with the low alcohol) and hardly profound but cleverly made and, again, a nod to what is really happening in the wider wine world.

Best drinking: now. 16/20, 87/100. 6%, $16.99. Giesen website. Would I buy it? No, but I’d recommend in context.