Wine contains vary amounts of sugar. The amount of sugar that the fermentation process that occur in the wine contains can change. Many person may believe that all wines contain the same amount of carbohydrate.
However, the amount of carbohydrate that is contained in wine isnt the same for all types of wine. The amount of sugar that remain within the wine after the fermentation process is complete is referred to as the residual sugar within that wine. The amount of residual sugar within wine is the amount that will contribute to the total carbohydrate count for that wine.
How Much Sugar Is in Wine
Thus, the amount of residual sugar within wine can be used to determine whether or not that wine can be included in a low carbohydrate diet plan. The chart that is include within this article organizes wines according to the amount of carbohydrate that is contained within a five ounce serving of wine. A five ounce serving of wine may contain less than one gram of carbohydrate, but it can also contain more than twenty grams of carbohydrate.
Because the body process alcohol and sugar within wine differently, it is important to consider the carbohydrate content of wine prior to drink it. Wines that contain very little sugar include those wines in which the yeast completely consumed the sugar during the fermentation process. These wines are referred to as dry wines.
Many white wines are dry wines. Additionally, many red wines are dry wines. Wines that contain high levels of alcohol indicates that the yeast consumed most of the sugar within the wine during the fermentation process.
Thus, high alcohol levels indicates that the wine is likely to be a dry wine. European wine producer are well known to produce dry wines. As a result, many wines from France and Italy are dry wines.
Wines from the New World can be dry wines, as well. However, some wines from the New World are also sweet wines. Sparkling wines contain different level of sweetness within them, and these levels are indicated on the label for each bottle of sparkling wine.
Brut Nature and Extra Brut wines are dry wines, and will contain low amounts of carbohydrate. As the levels of sweetness increase for sparkling wines, from Brut to Extra Dry or Demi Sec wines, the amount of sugar within those wines increase as well. Red wines that winemakers make in a dry style will contain low amounts of carbohydrate.
While many people believe that red wines are high in carbohydrate due to their color, many red wines actualy do not contain a high amount of carbohydrate. However, the label for red wines may indicate that the wine have a high amount of residual sweetness. In that case, the wine will have a higher carbohydrate count then red wines that are not sweet wines.
Wines that contain high amounts of carbohydrate include wines like White Zinfandel and Moscato. These wines contain high levels of carbohydrate because winemakers often stop the fermentation process for these wines. Dessert wines and fortified wines contain even more carbohydrate than wines like White Zinfandel and Moscato.
These wines are made with a focus upon increasing the carbohydrate content of the wine. Thus, those attempting to follow a low carbohydrate diet should of avoided wines with high carbohydrate content. Wines can be selected based off certain word on the label of the wine.
For sparkling wines, the word Brut should be looked for. For still wines, words that indicate dry wine should be looked for. While wines with high levels of alcohol may contain less sugar than wines with lower levels of alcohol, high levels of alcohol do not necessarily indicates low carbohydrate content for the wine.
The portion size of the wine that is consumed is also a factor in the total carbohydrate content of the wine that is consumed by an individual. While the wine may have a low amount of carbohydrate per five ounce serving, if an individual drink more than five ounces of wine, the body will consume more carbohydrates. Thus, even dry wines should not be consumed in amounts beyond a five ounce serving.
Water can be drunk between glasses of wine to control the total carbohydrate intake of an individual from wine. Wine can also be selected based upon the food that is eaten with the wine. Crisp white wines are often paired with light food.
Medium bodied red wines are often consumed with rich protein. While the carbohydrate content of wine can be read from the chart that is included in this article, the chart does not dictate the types of food that should be consumed with the wine. Wines may be selected according to the food that is to be eaten with the wine.
Wine can be part of a low carbohydrate diet if the wine is chosen carefully. In order to incorporate wine into a low carbohydrate lifestyle, it is necessary for individuals to understand where the sugar is contained within the wine, and where the fermentation process remove the sugar from the wine. When individuals understand the carbohydrate content of wine, individuals will have an understanding of which wines to choose based upon their carbohydrate restriction.
