Island Life Magazine Ltd December/January 2018 | Page 45

Interview
Described light-heartedly as a ‘Christmas Miracle’, the
world’s first truly sugar-free, carb-free wine is being
unveiled with a great fanfare across the UK this month.
Most of the media attention will be focusing on the fact that the new
SlimLine Wines are backed by TV entrepreneur James Caan of
Dragons’ Den fame, so it’s unlikely that the Isle of Wight’s
connection to the story will get a look-in.
But as we discovered, the idea was actually born and developed
right here on the Island, by Cowes-based wine consultant
Paul Anthony Gidley and his partner Miriam.
With a lifetime in hospitality
and the wine trade, he has run
award-winning hotels, gastro-
pubs and restaurants, knows
the wine world inside out and
is on first-name terms with
some of the finest wine ‘noses’
in the land.
So when Paul Anthony Gidley began to
play with the idea of a healthier, sugar-
free wine, he certainly wasn’t going to
compromise on quality or flavour.
Not for him the watered-down, 4 per
cent proof type of low-sugar offerings
currently on the market – his aim was to
come up with a proper full-flavoured, real-
deal of a wine, just minus the sugar.
Perhaps the obvious question, though,
is: “Why?”
Healthy drinking
Paul Anthony (the double name being a
clue to his French antecedents) explains:
“It started a couple of years ago with a
conversation between Miriam and me,
about the negative effects of sugar on
people’s health. At the time, Miriam was
working for the Macmillan cancer charity.
“She turned to me and said: ‘Well, you’re
just going to have to do something about
it, aren’t you, darling?”
The couple had been looking at some
of the statistics on the rising incidents
of diabetes as well as cancer, along
with sobering facts and figures on the
high sugar levels in most mainstream
wines: for example, the 36 grams of
sugar contained in a typical bottle of
champagne, is equivalent to 2-3 double
chocolate Magnum ice creams.
“It’s not that we are saying sugar is
the devil” says Paul Anthony, “but it is
reckoned to be twice as addictive as
cocaine, and most of us probably don’t
think twice about how much we are
consuming, especially when innocently
enjoying a glass of wine”.
Indeed, there have been suggestions
that the UK’s current love affair with
Prosecco (made from the large Glera
grape) threatens to rot the nation’s teeth.
So, with Miriam’s challenge ringing in
his ears, Paul Anthony opened up his
little black books of contacts and started
talking to some of the most talented wine
makers in the business, about how they
might achieve a true, sugar-free wine.
It came down to three vital factors:
finding the perfect soil conditions,
identifying the right variety of premium
grape, and developing a special
fermentation process that removes
residual sugars.
Finally, two years ago, he partnered
with Daniele Cusmano, a talented Chef
de Cave in the famous Piedmonte wine
producing area of northern Italy, and
began work on formulating an exclusive
sugar-free product for discerning wine
drinkers.
“We tried hundreds of samples along
the way” says Paul Anthony. “Some were
just too much like Champagne, and some
were simply dreadful - but finally we got
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