We all appreciate the restorative powers of a glass of wine at the end of a frenetic day.
While we know about the benefits of wine in small quantities – lowering blood pressure and guarding against heart disease – the trick is to know which wines to choose and which to avoid. Here are some tips to help you make 
the right selection:

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Go for quality over quantity. Why not enjoy one good quality glass of wine that you can savour, rather than a few glasses of something less tasty.

• 
There are some great low-alcohol wines available, which also means less calories.


• 
White wine lovers can select a dry wine rather than a sweet wine as it contains far less sugar.

• 
If you like red wine,
think geographically. As grapes ripen, sugar is created and either turns into alcohol or remains in the wine. So, choose cooler countries of origin, where the grapes contain less sugar and the wine less alcohol. As a general rule, a shiraz grown in South Australia will have a slightly lower sugar content than a shiraz grown in the Hunter Valley.

• 
If you like sparkling wine and champagne
when the party season starts, look out for brut or extra brut on the label.

• 
Avoid sweet wines (such as late-harvest rieslings or sauternes) and fortified wines (like port), which contain a lot of sugar. One glass of these can contain more sugar than three glasses of a dry white wine.