Scientists seek low-alcohol grail at Vinitaly

And made-in-Italy seedless, low-sugar grapes for dieters

(ANSA) - Verona, April 8 - Scientists are also on hand at this year's edition of Vinitaly, the international wine and spirits fair taking place in Verona on April 4-9. They are carrying out artificial fertilization trials on edible grapes in an effort to breed seedless varieties that are low in sugar. "We are thinking about a product aimed at overweight people with blood sugar problems", explained Donato Antonacci, a research director at the prestigious Agricultural Research Council (CRA). "Grapes have an 18% sugar content on average. Within two years, we aim to reduce that to 10%-12%, so people who are on diets can also ear grapes in the near future".

Worldwide, demand has turned to wines with lower alcohol content. "But the techniques to rid wine of its alcohol are complicated and expensive. We thought it would be better to focus our research on producing grapes that will in turn generate low-alcohol wine", Antonacci said.