Calorie and Unit Counting?

I wonder how many of you have broken lent already? 

Whilst conducting wine tasting’s I’m often asked the question, how many calories or how many units are in a bottle of wine?

Wine calories are a hot topic right now, especially with all of the trendy Mediterranean based diets and red wine’s resveratrol tie to healthier hearts and trimmer waistlines.

Red wines typically have slightly lower amounts of residual sugar than white wines. So if you are strictly comparing apples to apples, the calories in red wines will often be a little lower than those found in a glass of white wine. Although, most nutrition charts don't split hairs on residual sugar content and allow for both red and white wines to weigh in at 25 calories per ounce of wine.

While white wines often retain more sugar in the fermentation process, the additional caloric burden is quite negligible, unless it is a sweet dessert wine or ice wine. For your typical Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and the like, you can still count on 25 calories per ounce of white wine.

Wine and Calories, the Bottom Line

Just like all other aspects of calorie-counting, it's the portion size that really matters. Most nutrition charts have a caloric content that is based on a 4 ounce glass of wine (literally a half cup), yet most wine glasses are filled with 5-6 ounces of wine, making a realistic glass of wine more like 125-150 calories per "real world" serving.

You will have noticed over the past year more and more low alcohol wines are going on to the market. Wines from 5.5%-11.5% abv are much more common. The difference between a light Prosecco Frizzante at 10.5% (approx 8 units) and a big Aussie Chardonnay at 14.5% (approx 11 units) is huge. If you like to drink moderately throughout the week stick to low alcohol wines and you’ll avoid that groggy feeling on a Tuesday morning -  McGuigan Black Label Sauvignon Blanc is a perfect example at 11% but for those special occasions it would be hard to resist South Africa’s finest – Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon at 14%.

Quote of the month “At the first cup man drinks wine, at the second wine drinks wine, at the third wine drinks man” Japanese Proverb.