Does Chardonnay Have Carbs

Get Our Top Keto Wine Recommendations

Only the best

Low-carb alcoholic drinks like vodka and tequila are fine in small amounts on the ketogenic diet, but what about wine? For all you wine lovers out there, this article should clear up everything you need to know about keto wine.

Most wines have a high sugar content and will increase your insulin and blood sugar levels. But there are some keto-friendly wines you can drink and maintain ketosis.

May Reduce The Risk Of Diabetes

Studies have suggested that light to moderate drinking may be associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. But researchers also say that the relationship between alcohol and glucose control is complex in those who have already been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Authors of one study say that overall nutritional intake plays a big role in how alcohol impacts insulin and glucose metabolism. They note that research findings have been inconclusive about the relative benefits and risks of alcohol consumption in those with this condition.

Can You Drink Wine On Keto And Still Lose Weight

The Reaching of a Consensus. The quick answer to your question is that you can consume alcohol while following a ketogenic diet. However, not all types of wine are created equal in the eyes of the diet. Beverages heavy in carbs, such as beer and some wines, are prohibited from being consumed on the ketogenic diet.

Also Check: How Many Carbs In Wine Coolers

Best Red Wines By Grams Of Carbs Per Serving

Good news for red wine lovers! Some of the most delicious red wines also happen to be low-carb.

Not to mention they pair amazingly with some of your favorite keto foods like steak and cheese.

Look for these low-carb red wines on the menu:

• Cabernet Sauvignon 3-4g net carbs
• Chianti 3-4g net carbs

• Wine coolers

Wines To Avoid On The Ketogenic Diet

If you plan on drinking wine while on a keto diet, these are the ones to stay away from.

Drinking alcohol like wine coolers and frozen wine pops is like consuming alcoholic sugar bombs. These drinks will certainly put you over your carb intake for the day.

Wine coolers, for example, contain 34 grams of carbs and 33 grams of sugar per 11 oz. can. Alcohol pops, such as frozen rose, also clock in high at 35 grams of carbs and 31 grams of sugar.

If you really want to enjoy frozen bubbly, understand that it will probably kick you out of ketosis. When that happens, follow the tips in this guide to a keto reboot.

A better idea is to stick with keto-friendly wine brands, which can help lower your risk of being knocked out of ketosis altogether.

You May Like: Where To Buy Salt Of The Earth Wine

Can You Have Wine On The Keto Diet

Fortunately, there are some keto-friendly wines that you can drink while maintaining ketosis.

The best keto and low-carb wines are so-called dry wines with as little residual sugar as possible.

Since many wines are low in sugar due to their natural aging process, we dont necessarily rely on a low-carb wine designation.

Sweet wines, unlike dry wines, have a much shorter fermentation process. Because the yeast feeds on the grapes natural sugars during the fermentation process to produce alcohol, the result contains less sugar.

Nevertheless, this does not mean that wine, in general, contains hardly any sugar.

The shorter the fermentation process, the more sugar remains. This leftover sugar contributes to the sweet, fruity taste and many carbohydrates in the wine.

For this reason, you should look for the term dry when choosing wine so it doesnt throw you out of ketosis.

Why Do People Count Carbs

Low-carb diets are really popular right now, and it seems like everyone is on keto. The ketogenic diet, or keto for short, focuses on eating low carb, high fat, and moderate protein. This is a complete reversal to the diet recommendations of the past, which said to avoid fat at all costs. But why do people actually worry about carbs?

When you limit your daily carb intake, it sends your body into a state of ketosis . Usually, the body likes to burn carbs for energy and store the fat you eat. But when you limit carbs, your body burns your stored fat. During ketosis, your body becomes extremely efficient at burning fat for energy, which can cause rapid weight loss.

There are many reasons other than weight loss that people count carbs. Being in ketosis turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy to the brain. It has also been shown to lessen seizures in people with epilepsy. Additionally, it may correlate with a significant reduction in blood sugar and insulin levels.

To be on a low-carb diet, its usually recommended that you consume anywhere from 20 to 50 net carbs per day. Net carbs are the effective carbs that your body processes. To find the net carb content of a given food or beverage, subtract the fiber from the total carb count.

While wine does have a few grams of carbs per glass, tons of wines will allow you to stay within your daily net carb count.

You May Like: What Cheese Goes With Rose Wine

Cut Carbs And Carry On

You don’t have to say goodbye to drinking alcohol when following a low-carb diet. While you’ll need to rethink that daily donut run or lunchtime bag of chips, you can still enjoy a glass of wine every now and again as part of your overall wellness routine.

When looking for low-carb wine, opt for dry wines that have less residual sugar. Fortunately, you can find options whether you’re a fan of red, white, or rosé just take a look at the selection of Usual Wines low-carb wines and you can see for yourself. For even more ideas on how to include a delicious glass of wine into your health-conscious lifestyle, don’t miss our guides to keto-friendly wine andlow-sugar wine.

What Is The Lowest Carb Alcohol

Consensus has been reached. Your question may be answered in a few words: yes, you can consume alcohol while following a ketogenic diet. According to the diet, not all types of wine are created equal. Beer and some wines, which are heavy in carbs, are not permitted on the ketogenic diet.

Don’t Miss: How To Cork A Wine Bottle

Spirits Or Mixed Drinks

The age-old question: do you drink your liquor straight up or mix it with soda? From a calorie standpoint, its a no-brainer to go for the straight option. However, booze straight up is not really for everybody, myself included. In general, a 1.5 oz. straight drink will only set you back about 100 calories and basically no carbs. Anything you mix the alcohol with is usually a sugar drink, like OJ or coke, and thats where all the bonus calories and carbs come in. So go for the booze straight up or add a club soda or diet soda.

Understanding The Carbs In Wine

When most people think carbohydrates, they think of foods that are starchy or drinks high in sugar content. Dry wine actually contains no starch and very little residual sugar. The natural sugar that occurs in grapes is converted to alcohol during the fermentation process. There are not technically carbohydrates in wine, but what nutritionists and other scientific foodies like to call “carbohydrate equivalents.” In fact, the USDA refers to the carbs found in wine as “Carbohydrate by difference.” This means that carbohydrates are not detected in the food they are what remain after fat and protein have been detected, accounted for and removed from the equation. These “carbohydrate equivalents” have to do with how the body metabolizes the drink.

• Wine contains alcohol that is processed in the liver.
• Your liver converts the alcohol into acetate, which is a type of fuel the body can use like carbohydrates, fat, or protein.
• Your body burns the acetate first, before other fuels, turning it into energy before it ever gets a chance to turn into fat.

So while you may want to count carbs with each glass of wine you drink, keep in mind that these carbohydrate equivalents, particularly in red wine, may actually lower your blood sugar, rather than sending it into a spike. People with diabetes should continue to count the carbs in the wine as normal, because consuming too much may have an adverse effect on blood sugar levels.

Also Check: Can You Order Wine Through Instacart

Why Is It Hard To Find Low Carb Wine In Australia

Unfortunately, its not as easy as looking at the nutritional label to determine the nutritional information of your chosen wine.

You see, while most food products have nutrition information on their labels or packaging, wines do not. Its because winemakers are not required by law to share nutritional information in Australia .

Even those winemakers who share nutritional figures may not be lab testing their wine, and the macronutrient split can vary from batch to batch.

However, there are still ways to gauge if a given wine is low carb or not. It all depends on what type of wine it is certain varieties tend to be much lower in carbs than others, but its not an exact method and it can be easy to make the wrong choices based on assumptions.

Tip: dedicated sellers such as The Only Keto Wines Co carry out independent lab testing to confirm the carb count of all wines they stock. If you want real certainty about the macros in your wine, this online store is a great choice and you can use the code KETOLICIOUS to get $20 off a 6 or 12 pack.

Carbs In Red Wine Vs Other Alcohols

Red wine is a better option for weight loss when compared to sugary mixed drinks or most beers, but theres a minefield out there depending on your drink of choice.

Distilled spirits like vodka, gin, and tequila have zero carbs, but mixed drinks are typically high in sugar content if youre not watching your mixers. Reach for low-sugar options like seltzer if youre watching grams of sugar in your cocktails.

Heres a breakdown:

• Ice wine: 12

Also Check: Where To Buy Lancers Wine

Chart Of Carbs In Dry Red Wine

Dry red wines all have similar amounts of carbohydrates – ranging from about 4 grams to 5.5 grams per 5 ounce serving. The lowest carbs in red wine is non-Burgundy Pinot Noir, while the highest is Pinot Noir from Burgundy. While there are sweet red wines and red dessert wines, it isn’t terribly common, but do make sure the red wine you are purchasing is dry.

Here is a list of popular dry red wines and their carbohydrate count according to the USDA.

Carbs in Dry Red Wine

As a general rule, the bigger bodied the wine, the higher the carb count. The lighter bodied the wine, the lower the carb count. Always check the label or call for nutritional information about any wine before consumption if you are concerned about the carb counts.

The Best Wine For Keto And The Worst

You dont need to know the difference between a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a Pinot Grigio and a Pinot Noir, to know your way around a wine list. Weve put together a handy guide to help you understand which wine has the least carbs and sugar, and which ones to avoid on a keto diet.

Don’t Miss: Where Can I Buy Caymus Wine

How Many Calories Are In Your Wine

Sipping on sauvignon blanc or enjoying a glass of red with dinner can be a nice way to unwind after a hectic day. While drinking wine can provide some health benefits, such as increasing your good cholesterol and reducing your odds of heart disease, alcohol also delivers empty calories and not many nutrients, which can eventually cause weight gain, obesity, and diabetes.

The key with drinking is doing so in moderation. Moderate drinking is defined as having one drink — that’s 5 ounces of wine — per day for women and two for men.

Plus, you want to choose a drink that wonât break the calorie bank. As a rule of thumb, white wines tend to be lower in calories than reds. Also, make sure your wine has a lower alcohol by volume percentage, ideally of 11% or less. The higher the ABV, the higher the calorie count. Check out the chart below to see how your favorite wine stacks up.

How Much Should We Drink On Keto

Most short-term, in-depth keto diets do not recommend drinking alcohol at all.

That said, if youre working on a longer-term nutrition lifestyle change, your best bet is likely the moderation model:

• No more than 2 drinks per day for men*
• No more than 1 drink per day for women*

The funny thing about alcohol is that we digest it very differently than other calories. Part of the effort happens with these handy little enzymes called alcohol dehydrogenase. Enzymes help chemically process alcohol calories through our liver, stomach, and kidneys. So, were still not sure if we burn alcohol calories as efficiently as other calories.

In case youre wondering: The reason why women cant drink as much is because women have than men. Its a shame, but also a fact.

*As we all well know, everyones physiology is different and more! Talk to a doctor or nutritionist about your unique situation.

Last Word: Drink Wine Even If Its Folly

If youre seriously committing to the keto thing, you might want to stop drinking altogether while your body adjusts. After this process, you might be able to start adding dry wines back into your diet.

Whats life without living a little?

After taking a deep dive into the keto diet and learning from others, we did notice a trend: the people who stick to a diet and exercise regime are the ones who get results. So, if we learned anything from this whole process, its that doing the work will get you the results you want.

You can do it. Salut!

Read Also: How To Make A Wine Cooler

Where Is The Best Chardonnay Produced

Theres no such thing as the best Chardonnay. A better question is: what style of Chardonnay do you like to drink? The differences between wines of different regions are largely due to climate and winemaking traditions. Thus, we can break down Chardonnay between cool versus warm regions and old world versus new world, within that context.

Cool Climate Chardonnay: Cooler regions can be found in both the old and new world. Cooler climate Chardonnay typically has more acidity, citrus flavors and mineral character, and is lighter-bodied, lighter in alcohol and elegant.

• Old World: Burgundy , Champagne , Germany, Austria, Northern Italy.
• New World: Ontario , Sonoma Coast , Anderson Valley , Willamette Valley , Tasmania , Mornington Peninsula , New Zealand, Casablanca and Leyda Valley .

Warm Climate Chardonnay: Most warm climate Chardonnay regions fall within the new world. Warm-climate Chardonnay typically has less acidity, with opulent, ripe fruit flavors from yellow peach to papaya and pineapple. Wines are usually fuller-bodied with higher alcohol.

• Old World: Much of Spain, Southern Italy.
• New World: Most of California, South Australia, much of South Africa.

Zilzie Liv Lighter Sauvignon Blanc

With its pale straw colour tinged with green, this wine gives a taste of tropical passionfruit, lemongrass, and green apple, and the aroma of lemon and passionfruit. To get this fruity, zesty blend, the fruit is harvested at night, and the wine is bottled early to preserve the fresh fruit flavour. With 9% ABV, it makes for a light, refreshing drink on its own or paired with food.

Great with: Fish, green vegetables, goat cheese, fresh herbs, pesto, oysters, grilled or roasted lamb, smoked seafood, fruit tarts

Also Check: How To Make White Wine

Which Wine Has The Lowest Carbs

Whether youre cutting down on carbs for the health benefits, weight loss, or other reasons, a glass of wine can still be part of your life.

The good news is that an average glass of wine, say Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, has just over 3 grams of net carbs per 5-ounce serving. Compare that to a piña colada, with a hefty 43 grams of carbs per serving, and it seems wine is the way to go.

The bad news is that not all wine is created equal. While brut or dry sparkling wines have just a single gram of carbs per serving, full-bodied reds such as Burgundy have over 5 grams.

As a general rule of thumb, full-bodied red wines such as Malbec, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel tip the scale in regards to carbs. Meanwhile, dry white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Brut Champagne or sparkling wines are lower in carbs.

If you simply cant resist a glass of red wine, go for lighter-bodied reds such as Pinot Noir or Syrah. These weigh in at a reasonable 3.4 grams of carbs per glass.

What We Learned On Our Hunt For Keto Wines

Bad News: youre not going to see RS listed on the label.

The US has no labeling requirements for nutrition, so no one adds it. Additionally, we found searching for this information online complicated.

It took me multiple back-and-forth emails to squeeze this information out of one producer.

Good News: Many wines will fit the bill! On our searches, we discovered a few key clues:

What Wines To Avoid

Wines with higher alcohol levels include varieties like , , , and You cant blame them for it. Theyre naturally high in sugar.

Whats more important to avoid is wines with higher sweetness levels . Sweet wines include , Port, and other

Recommended Reading: How To Get Rid Of Red Wine Stain