Did you know that naturally sugar-free wines exist? While this may not be something you are aware of, these are many great benefits for these types of wine – especially if you are on a diet!
Given that wine is created from grapes, it would be correct to assume that wine contains sugar. Grapes are a fruit and do contain sugar, which then translates into the wine. However, naturally sugar free wines are a great alternative.
In this article, we will be chatting through everything you need to know about natural sugar free wine, touching upon aspects such as the fermentation process, and health.
How Is Wine Made?
Before we discuss sugar-free wine, it is useful to know how wine is made. This will help to give you a better idea of the fermentation process, and how this links to the amount of sugar that is in wine.
As we have already covered, wine is made using grapes, which are full of sugar. As a result of this, there is sugar present in the wine naturally. In many cases this cannot be avoided. However, the dryer the wine is, the less sugar it contains.
When one bottle of wine is created, up to 800 grapes are used, which is quite a shocking number! When you take into consideration the sugar content of each grape, it is easy to see why wine contains sugar. However, the sugar content is a lot lower than expected given how many grapes are used. This is due to fermentation.
Fermentation is a process that is natural. Yeast is used in the fermentation process and this causes the sugar present in the grapes to turn into alcohol. As a result of this, the higher the volume of alcohol, the less sugar that is present. Once the fermentation process has ended, the vast majority of the sugar has been converted.
However, some residual sugar can be present. This is why not all wine is completely free of sugar. Given this, all types of wine will have a different sugar percentage. The sweeter the wine is, the more sugar it will contain. While there are many sweet wines, there are also a lot of lower sugar, dry alternatives too.
It is worth noting that the sugar that is in wine is natural, and sugar is not typically added. In some cases, it is actually illegal to add sugar to wine when it is not naturally occurring.
How Much Sugar Is In Wine?
The amount of sugar that is present in wine will depend on the type of wine that is purchased and the sweetness of the wine. Here are some examples of the amount of sugar in each type of wine:
Dessert Wine
Dessert wine has the highest amount of sugar, and can contain anything from 70 grams of sugar per liter. It is the sweetest wine of the four different types.
Medium Wine
This type of wine still contains a high amount of sugar, but it is less than a dessert wine. On average, it will contain around 40 – 60 grams of sugar per liter.
Semi-Dry Wine
Semi dry wine is the perfect option if you are not fond of sweet or dry wine. While it is still slightly sweet, its sugar content is quite low. It will typically contain around 15 – 40 grams of sugar per liter.
Dry Wine
Dry wine does contain the least amount of sugar. It is not sweet to the taste, but is still quite refreshing. It will only have up to 12 grams of sugar per liter.
As you can see, the amount of sugar present does vary quite significantly.
Natural Sugar-Free Wine
Now that you have a better understanding of wine, fermentation, and the sugar content, let’s talk about natural sugar-free wine. While there are not many options available, there are some that can be classed as sugar free.
It is worth noting that even if a wine is sugar free it is still going to contain a small amount of sugar. As this is measured per liter, the amount is going to be particularly low. Given this, if you are on a strict diet for keto or diabetes, for example, these types of wines are okay to drink in moderation.
For a wine to be classed as sugar free, it needs to contain less than 2.5 grams of sugar per liter. When you compare this sugar amount to the content of a dessert wine, they are vastly different. The types of wine that are this low in sugar are going to be very dry, which is worth keeping in mind.
If you are looking for a sugar free wine, a natural wine is the best option. You will want to look for a wine labelled as sugar free where possible, or you will need to check the sugar content on the label of the bottle.
If you are in a restaurant, you can ask your server for more information on the types of wine that they do serve. As there is a limited number of sugar free wines, they may not always have the option available.
Some of the most common types of low sugar wines include:
- Champagne
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Pinot Noir
- Merlot
- Chardonnay
As you can see, there are both red and white wines that are seen to be sugar free. Given this, there is a good amount of choice to choose from, and these will be healthier to consume on the whole.
Summary
We hope you have found this article useful and insightful. As you can see, there are many types of natural sugar free wines you can consume if you are conscious about a wine’s sugar content.
As all types of wine contain different sugar levels, we would always recommend reading the label before purchasing. In addition to this, many wines will also have a label to state whether they are sugar free or not.
