Without a nutrition label and with endless choices of white, red or sparkling, how are calorie counters supposed to know which to choose?
“What you want to look for are the lower-calorie wines that have a little bit less sweetness to them,” said Brittany Link from Advice for Eating.
Link said the ABV or ALC percentage number is your guide.
“The lower the ABV or ALC number, the less calories and sugar it is typically going to have,” she said. “The range goes from nine to 17 so anywhere on the lower end: 9, 10, 11 is going to be the lighter wine choice for you.”
With white wine, those numbers typically dip down into the lower end with pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. With red, a pinot noir or cabernet is more likely to have a lower ALC percentage number.
“Those are going to be a little bit less in calories and a little bit lower in sugar content than some of the sweeter wines like port, dessert wine, sherry, those are going to be higher in sugar and higher in calories,” Link said.
If you’re looking to drink champagne, she said look for a brut nature or brut zero.
“That means that it's going to have less added sugar, so all champagne has a little bit of added sugar, that's what gives it the bubbly and effervescence to it, but those that say brut natural or brut zero are going to have the least amount of added sugar.”
Plus she said, the glass you’re drinking it in might be just as important as what you're drinking!
“A typical serving size for a glass of wine is 5 oz. When you think about other drinks, you generally think about a cup. So, 5 oz. is closer to half a cup,” Link said. “It doesn't seem like you're getting very much bang for your buck so I love (same idea as using a smaller plate) using something like a coupe glass because you feel like you're getting a lot more when you're filling up the glass.”