(TDB) - Counting the calories after an indulgent festive period? This selection of low-cal wines could help maintain your virtue.

A trend for lighter, lower calorie wines has quickly gathered pace in the US and UK, with the category gradually overcoming its poor image which has in the past been recognised as a barrier to success.

As reported by the drinks business late last year,one in four bottles of “premium” Californian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay underwent the industrial alcohol removal process supplied by ConeTech in the past year. UK supermarket Sainsbury’s has committed to doubling its lighter alcohol range by 2020, slashing the abv on its own-brand Prosecco earlier this year. While the New Zealand the wine industry is ploughing £8.5m into increasing its “skinny” wine output due to increasing consumer demand for lower alcohol wines.

While low-cal wines have no set industry standard, they are generally at least 15% lighter than the standard 120 to 130 calories found in a typical 150ml serving.

Mateus Light – 44 calories per 100ml serve, 5.5%

Mateus unveiled a range of low alcohol wines in June 2014 – its second new range to launch in 2014 with owner Sogrape pledging to invest £2 million in the UK alone.

The 5.5% abv white, rosé and sparkling styles within this Mateus Light collection follow the launch in March of Mateus Expressions, a four-strong range of wines that each blends an international variety with a Portuguese grape. Both ranges mark a shift away from the distinctive flask shaped bottle of Mateus The Original, which remains a core product for the brand.

The new Mateus Light range is made using spinning cone technology to remove alcohol, before the end product is blended back into the original wine. The range carries an RRP of around £4.49 for the white and rosé expressions, while the sparkling is about £6.99.

Banrock Station Light – 56 calories per 125ml serve, 5.5% abv

Launched in 2011 to tap into the rapidly-growing lighter drinking category, Accolade Wines’ Banrock Station Light comes in at 5.5% abv and carries just 56 calories per 125ml serve – 30% less than its standard counterparts.

The range currently features a Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc and a Shiraz Rosé.

Brancott Estate Flight Song range – 88 calories per 148ml serve, 9% abv

Brancott Estate’s low-cal Flight Song range launched in 2014 following a decade of research by the Marlborough-based winery. Carrying 20% fewer calories compared with its standard varietal counterparts, the wines are produced from grapes harvested earlier in the season when their sugar levels are naturally lower, leading to a wine lower in calories.

The Brancott Estate Flight Song range includes a premium Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and a Marlborough Pinot Grigio which both retail at US$14.99.