The sweet white or red wine can be paired with your favorite dishes. The drink is not ideal for those who are tracking their carbohydrate intake.
Wines with high sugar content contain high amounts of carbohydrates.
How can you choose the best wine to suit your diet from a wide range of dessert wines, dry wines, and other types of wine?
This article will answer all of your questions- from the number of carbs in white wine and red wines, how to calculate carbs in wine, and which low-carb wines are best to drink when on a diet.
We’ll show how you can build your collection of fine wines using Vinovest.
What are the carbs in wine?
The net carbs in a wine are a result of the unfermented sugar.
During the fermenting process of grape juice, yeast converts carbohydrates (or, as nutritionists refer to them, “carbohydrate-equivalents”) in the wine to alcohol.
If you stop fermentation before all carbohydrates have been converted, you will end up with residual glucose (RS) in your wine.
The residual sugar in wine determines its carbohydrate content.
Here’s an overview of the alcohol and sugar content in a 5-ounce glass of wine (147ml).
Red Wine Carbs
A full-bodied red wine (like a rich, dry red wine ) has a high amount of carbs. So, if you’re looking for a low-carb red wine, check out a dry red wine that’s light to medium-bodied.
Yes! If you are on a Keto diet, you should choose a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Grenache and Zinfandel are sweet wines that are not recommended for weight loss. Port wine, like fortified wines, can contain up to 14 grams of carbohydrates per glass. This is not a low-carb or keto-friendly red wine!
The keto diet is based upon ketosis, a metabolic condition that relies primarily on fat for energy. The Keto diet is low carb, moderate protein, and high fat.
Take a look at how many net carbs are in red wine.
Carbohydrates in White Wine
If you’re a white wine lover, we have good news!
Dry white wines like Sauvignon Blanc or Brut champagne are great for keeping your wine keto. These wines are low-carb, light-bodied, and have a low residual sugar content.
Dry wines also have a fruity flavor. If you want a tasty wine but don’t want carbs in your diet, try a dry white.
Pinot Blanc Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, for example, are white wines with low sugar content.
Carbohydrate content in one glass (147ml/5 ounces) of white wine type
What wine contains the least carbs?
Pinot Blanc, Brut Champagne, and Pinot Grigio are the top three sparkling white wines.
Fun Fact: A non-alcoholic wine (1 fl. oz.) contains 0.3g of total carbs.
Carbs in other alcoholic drinks
There are not many health benefits to other alcoholic beverages like whiskey or rum. They pair well with the keto diet due to their zero-carb content.
Alcoholic drinks with Alcohol By Volume (ABV) of less than 13% are ideal for the ketogenic diet — provided they have low residual sugar levels. Always check the ABV when choosing an alcoholic beverage that is low-carb.
Look at the carbohydrate content of liquor, beer, liqueurs, and cocktails.
The fermentation process of hard liquors (vodka, tequila, and rum) reduces the sugar content to almost zero. That’s why these alcoholic beverages are known as zero-carb drinks.
Being keto-friendly doesn’t mean they have zero carbs. This is because alcohol burns fat instead of alcohol. Frequent alcohol consumption can slow the weight loss process.
Keto dieters should drink alcohol in moderation.
Fun fact: You can drink hard liquor mixed with other drinks, such as cocktails.
Try this classic vodka cocktail:
Add 4oz plain seltzer or diet soda to a shot of vodka. Enjoy! Add some lime.
Beer
It’s no surprise that beer is not a keto-friendly alcoholic beverage. It has a high carb content (around 20 grams per 12 ounces or 355 ml serving) and slows down your metabolism.
Choose a low-carb beer if you want a cold one after a hard week of work.
A light beer is an excellent choice.
Light beers are low in carbs and sugar and won’t hinder your weight loss efforts.
A light beer may have fewer carbohydrates than regular beer, but it is not the best low-carb alcohol to use with a ketogenic diet.
A light beer also contains a small amount of potassium. Consult your dietician prior to drinking beer.
Liqueurs
If you want to keep your calorie count to a minimum, then avoid liqueurs at all costs. Although you can find liqueurs with moderate alcohol content, they usually have high sugar content. And any alcoholic drink with added sugar is a no-go for a keto diet.
Do you want a Sangria or a beer with low carbs?
Alcohol consumption must be kept to a minimum in order to maintain ketosis.
Cocktails
Cocktails, on the other hand, have juices and syrups with high sugar content — not the best choice for a diet. Artificial fruit juice is high in carbs and affects blood sugar levels.
A mixed drink that has fewer carbohydrates to satisfy your cravings.
Add four oz. of lime seltzer into a shot of Tequila. You can also use a low-carb sweetener that is sugar-free.
Try this tequila cocktail with grapefruit seltzer, diet soda, or a diet soft drink.
How do you measure the carbohydrate content of your favorite wine?
How to Calculate the Carbohydrate Content in Wine
The general principle is – the higher the residual sugar, the higher the carbohydrates.
Wine labels do not provide nutrition information. This means that it is impossible to instantly know how much sugar or carbs are in a particular wine.
A wine lover can still estimate the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in a particular wine by looking at its ABV. Here’s how to do it:
ABV
Alcohol is produced by yeast fermentation. The higher the ABV, the more sugar yeast consumes. Wines with high ABV usually have low levels of sugar.
Take German Riesling as an example. Dry Riesling has a 10%-11% ABV and 5-6 grams of carbohydrates. A Riesling with a late harvest has an ABV of 8-9% and contains up to 20g of carbohydrates.
Wine Styles
You can use the style of the wine to determine if there is residual sugar in it.
Bone Dry Wines contain less than 1g of sugar per glass. They are the best choice for a Ketogenic Diet.
Dry Wine includes no more than 2 grams of sugar per glass.
Sweet Winecan contains 3 to 5 grams of sugar per glass.
Dessert Wine Can go up to 30 to 40 g RS per glass (5-ounce serving or 147ml).
Brut Nature Wines are among the dryest wines. A bottle of wine contains only 0-3 grams of sugar.
Extra Brut contains 4 to 6g RS per liter. Extra Brut is the perfect wine for a low-carb diet.
Brut wines have between 7 and 12g of RS per liter. This is a good alcohol to drink on a low-carb diet.
Extra Dry Wines contain between 12-17g of RS per liter.
Dry (Sec) sparkling wines can be as high as 17-32g/liter.
Demi-Sec (Off-Dry) and Doux (sweet) sparkling wines are more adorable and have maximum carbs. Demi-sec sparkling wines contain 32-50g of residual sugar per liter. Doux sparkling wine can have even more sugar.