One.6 chardonnay,

2003 vintage

price: $12 normally, but big savings in July if purchased at a state store by the case

suggested food pairings: full flavored cheeses, fowl,

fin-fishes, lighter pasta dishes

I, like many, have been watching my carbohydrate intake recently. It's helped me drop nearly 20 pounds since late February, and seems to be the real thing when it comes to weight loss. With my penchant for daily indulgence in a drop or two of wine, I must admit that it has been a low-carb, rather than a no-carb journey. I did go wineless for three weeks in March, and it was a parched, horrific nightmare-I was less thirsty when, on my honeymoon, I crossed California's Mojave. So I was more than interested to discover a line of wines from Hopland, California's Stonybrook Winery, that drops the carbs yet maintains decent flavor.

According to www.lcbartender.com, a 4 oz. glass of Sutter Home pinot noir has 2.5 carbs, and a 4 oz. glass of Black Swan chardonnay has 3.2 carbs. One.6 has, you guessed it, 1.6 carbs for a 5 oz. glass. By way of comparison to other adult beverages, a 12 oz. Budweiser has 13.49 carbs. Incidentally, the carbs come from the residual sugars in the wine or beer, not the alcohol content. To give you an example, a typical German riesling (sweet), will have a significant carb count, while a typical Alsatian riesling (dry), will have a relatively low count. One.6 has an alcohol content of 13.5 percent, which is very typical for a domestic white wine.

The wine is pale in color, with average legs and a nutty oak aroma that nearly masks an attractive melon and lime backdrop. The oak comes from the barrel aging of part of this batch, which is then blended back into the final product before bottling. The wood also shows itself in the flavor profile, with the fruit following the oak just as it does on the nose. The wine drinks dry. Sunny citrus notes of lemon and grapefruit make a valiant stand against the wood, and with the help of some youthful acid, prune back the forest just in time for a refreshing, light finish laced with vanilla. As you drain the bowl, you realize you've experienced a tasty wine with character, which just happens to have less than half the carbs you might normally be getting in your favorite wine stem...so...have another glass.