How many carbohydrates are in a glass of red wine

How many carbohydrates are in a glass of red wine

Wine isn't high in carbs, but the amount of sugar can certainly add up if you're enjoying more than a glass or two.

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In This Article

  • Red Wine
  • White Wine
  • Rosé or Blush Wine
  • Dessert Wine
  • Sparkling Wine

If you're counting carbs or calories, you might wonder how wine factors into your diet. While it might not be super high in carbs, there are a significant amount of calories in a bottle of wine.

While wine does boast some potential health benefits, it also contains a substantial number of calories. A small proportion of those calories comes from carbohydrates, but most come from alcohol.

Wine bottles come in a wide range of sizes, and as such, the number of calories and carbohydrates in any one bottle can vary greatly. In addition to the standard 750-milliliter bottles sold in most grocery and liquor stores, you may also find half-bottles (375 milliliters) as well as magnum bottles (1,500 milliliters, or two bottles' worth). Even larger bottles of wine may be equivalent to four, six, eight or more standard-size bottles.

Wine Serving Size

A typical wine bottle of 750 milliliters contains about 25 ounces of liquid. In the United States, a 5-ounce serving of wine is considered standard; by this measure, a bottle of wine contains about five glasses.

Wine contains no fat, a trace amount of protein and some carbohydrates. Because it isn't a source of dietary fiber or complex carbs, all of the carbs in a glass of wine are in the form of readily digested simple sugars.

Here's the breakdown of how many carbs are in wine for a standard 5-ounce glass, a half bottle and a whole bottle.

Carbs in Red Wine

The carbs in merlot or cabernet sauvignon come from sugar, and the majority of the calories come from alcohol. Here's the breakdown of the carbs in wine, according to the USDA.

  • 1 glass: 3.8 grams
  • 1/2 bottle: 9.6 grams
  • 1 bottle: 19.2 grams

Carbs in White Wine

White wine carbs come from sugar, as all wines are made from grapes. Check out the carb content for various serving sizes of white wine:

  • 1 glass: 3.8 grams
  • 1/2 bottle: 9.6 grams
  • 1 bottle: 19.1 grams

Carbs in Rosé or Blush Wine

Here's what you need to know about the carbs in rosé wine:

  • 1 glass: 5.8 grams
  • 1/2 bottle: 14.4 grams
  • 1 bottle: 28.8 grams

Carbs in Dessert Wine

Dessert wines contain significantly more carbohydrates and calories than less sweet wines, which is why they also usually come in smaller bottles and tend to be served in smaller glasses. When it comes to carbs, dry dessert wine contains:

  • 1 glass: 17.2 grams
  • 1/2 bottle: 43 grams
  • 1 bottle: 86.1 grams

Carbs in Sparkling Wine

Here's the breakdown of carbs in prosecco:

  • 1 glass: 4 grams
  • 1/2 bottle: 10 grams
  • 1 bottle: 20 grams

Healthy Drinking Habits

According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, alcohol should be consumed in moderation — one drink for adults assigned female at birth and up to two drinks for adults assigned male at birth. These guidelines also define a 5-ounce glass of wine as one drink, which means that a 750-milliliter bottle of wine contains five “moderate” drinks.

How many carbohydrates are in a glass of red wine

If you’re counting carbs it doesn’t mean you have to cut out wine, at least not altogether. If you are strictly monitoring your carb intake; however, you should pay attention to the type of wine you’re consuming. Most wines don’t typically list out the number of carbs per serving, only the alcohol content. So, understanding the “general carb content” of each style of wine is the best way to go.

Contents

  • How Many Carbs Are in Wine?
  • Are There Keto Wines Available?
  • Which Wines Contain the Most Antioxidants?

The best wine is naturally very low in carbohydrates when compared to many other foods, especially those made from sweet and semi-sweet fruits such as grapes. The thing is, not all wines are equal when it comes to the levels of carbohydrates and residual sugars that they contain. If it’s important to you to find low-carb wine, there are a large number of products available on the market.

In fact, there are many wines available that do not contain any carbs at all. In general, the less sweet tasting a glass of wine is, the fewer carbohydrates it contains. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about the carb content of wine so you can make healthy choices that support your lifestyle.

How Many Carbs Are in Wine?

How many carbohydrates are in a glass of red wine

A single 5-ounce glass of dry wine contains between 0-4 grams of net carbs per serving.

Generally, wine is considered one of the lowest carbohydrates-containing alcoholic beverages. Wines that are considered dry contain the least carbs of all wine varieties regardless of whether they are red, white, or pink.

Dry red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz or Syrah, Merlot, and Zinfandel are very likely to be close to 0 carbs.

The same can be said of dry white varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Albariños, and Grüner Veltliners.

Sweet wine varieties like Port, Moscato, and Ice wine contain up to 20 grams of residual sugar per 5 glasses. These noticeably sweet tasting wines still only contain up to about 10 grams of net carbs per serving.

Differences in production quality can vary greatly from wine to wine, however. Carbs in red wine, white wine, and rose wine can vary greatly from product to product depending on production techniques used. It’s important to choose higher quality wines to avoid drinking excess sugars that are a result of less-than-ideal production and storage techniques.

Are There Keto Wines Available?

How many carbohydrates are in a glass of red wine

There are wines available that will work well with keto and other low-carb diets. Low-carb wines tend to be drier. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay are some very popular wine varieties that can be purchased with very low carbohydrate content.

Unfortunately, it can be challenging to be sure which specific wines fall into this category. Wine producers in most cases do not list the amount of residual sugar contained within their products. As a result, while many Merlots will be quite dry, there will undoubtedly be products available that contain higher amounts of residual sugar. This is the biggest reason why we recommend choosing higher-quality wines if issues like this are important to you.

When in doubt, feel free to contact a wine shop or producer to ask about the sugar content of their products. Sometimes asking the right questions is a great way to get the consumer product information that you are seeking. Having all the information makes it much easier to make informed decisions about which products to purchase and what companies to support.

Just remember that as a general rule of thumb, wines that cost less than $10 a bottle are more likely to contain excess residual sugars. That is not to say every bottle over $10 is better. It’s always important to try to seek out better quality products when you are thinking about the health of you and your family.

Read more: Keto Diet Guide

Which Wines Contain the Most Antioxidants?

Wine is considered one of the world’s healthiest alcoholic beverages. In particular, the antioxidants in wine are being investigated for their ability to promote longevity by lowering inflammation around the body. Resveratrol is one particular compound found in wines that have been found to contribute to human health and wellness in several measurably profound ways.

Researchers conclude that while all wines contain antioxidant content, dry red wines are the type most likely to be loaded with these free-radical-fighting powerhouses. If you are looking for the absolute healthiest and most likely to be low-carb wine, be sure to stick to dry reds. When compared to other types of wine, dry reds are the most likely to contain low carbohydrate content and be loaded with antioxidants such as resveratrol.

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Can you drink red wine on keto?

Here's the good news. “Wine is much lower in carbs than beer, so most people who eat keto choose wine,” recommends Andreas Eenfeldt, MD, via Diet Doctor. Phew! Thankfully, it turns out that, yes, you can drink a very dry red wine or white wine in moderation on keto.

Which wine is lowest in carbohydrates?

1. Sauvignon Blanc. Dry wines are the lowest in carbohydrates, and this refreshing white is one of the driest and crispest around (and with only approximately 2 grams of carbs per serving to boot).

Which red wine has the least carbs?

Remember: Select dry wines as these will have the fewest grams of sugar, and therefore the least amount of carbs..
Pinot Noir: 3.4 grams of carbs..
Merlot: 3.7 grams of carbs..
Cabernet Sauvignon: 3.8 grams of carbs..

Is red wine high in carbohydrate?

Wine and light varieties of beer are also relatively low in carbs — usually 3–4 grams per serving.