On tasting this week: a selection of wines (some included in our low-alcohol mixed case) at or below 13% abv.

It's amazing the difference a couple of percent makes. When it comes to alcohol in wine, sometimes the 15% (or higher) bruisers from hot vintages in the warmer reaches of the wine-producing world can be a little much. They can certainly be concentrated and powerful, and there's no denying that many of the world's great wines have clocked in at around these levels. But when you dial alcohol down a couple of degrees, you feel the difference in freshness. I feel it at the end of the evening, and doubly so when I get up early the morning after. Nor does dialling down the alcohol level a little mean losing out on character - far from it. As we surveyed the Uncorked shelves, we realised how many great, individual, regionally authentic wines clock in at a moderate 13% or less.