light wine

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1. In the United States, this legally defined term refers to wine with 14 percent or less ALCOHOL BY VOLUME. 2. Light wine has also become a marketing term for wines with a lower alcohol content than regular wines—usually 7 to 10 percent—which translates to fewer calories. These wines are made either by decreasing the sugar (usually by picking the grapes early, before they reach optimum sugar levels) or by using a vacuum distillation process to remove some of the alcohol. Either method lowers the final alcohol content and decreases the caloric content, which generally translates to a lackluster flavor, as well.