The Grape Debate

How Sweet It Is

Although wine, when imbibed in moderation, seems like it’s practically a health food, the beverage also contains sugar. But finding out how much sugar you’re consuming is hard to tell. Most countries don’t indicate sugar content on the label. One clue to wine’s amount of “residual sugar” is whether the wine is dry versus sweet.

“During the winemaking process, yeast converts the natural sugars in the grapes into alcohol,” explains Bernard Hickin, chief winemaker at Jacob’s Creek in Australia. “The amount of sugar left in the wine after this fermentation process, called residual sugar, can vary depending on a number of factors.

The more residual sugar, the sweeter the wine tastes. “Higher sugar levels tend to be present in grapes grown in warm regions compared to cooler regions,” notes Hickin. “Red grape varieties are usually harvested with higher sugar levels than white grape varieties.”

MORE: Sneaky Sources of Sugar

If you want to cut back on sugar, sticking with drier wines rather than sweet ones (such as sweet Rieslings, dessert wines and ice wines) can help, but it’s not always so simple. To complicate things further, other factors affect sweetness, from the amount of alcohol to how much acidity a wine has. Case in point: A wine could taste dry even if it has high sugar content (up to nine grams per liter) if it’s also acidic.

Here’s a breakdown of wine types and how much sugar they contain:

• Dry: 4 grams per liter, so it’s not sweet.
• Medium dry: 4-12 grams of sugar per liter—or about 0.5 to 2 grams per glass.
• Sweet: More than 45 grams of sugar per liter—or about 6 grams per glass or more.

What’s more, wine isn’t calorie-free (sigh). The standard serving size usually contains about 105 calories, which isn't terrible when compared to a 500-calorie jumbo margarita, but if you're watching your weight, two or more glasses can add up quickly.