How Many Calories Are in My Drink?

Aperitifs, parties, picnics, celebratory meals, having a drink can be part of life. However, we wrongly underestimate the calorific value of what we consume. And on the bottle, unlike most foodstuffs sold in supermarkets, often nothing is mentioned on the label about nutritional values.

The calorie intake comes from the alcohol and sugar content of the drink. A cocktail made with fruit juice, cane sugar and energy drink will quickly add up to a lot of calories.

Wine, champagne, beer, spirits... it is important to understand that alcoholic beverages are the result of the process of fermentation or distillation of natural sugars (fruit or cereals): sugar is therefore present, whatever the degree of alcohol, which remains an important factor to take into account. For example, in equal proportions, wines is less calorific than spirits.

Not all drinks are treated equal, and each is drunk from its own glass, which makes it difficult to compare quantities.

To help you find your way around, Vinatis offers you some simple benchmarks for looking at calorie equivalents, by type of glass/drink.

Wine contains no fat. So the calorie content varies according to the volume of alcohol and the sweetness of the wine. Resulting from the transformation of the grape by fermentation, the sugar naturally present in the grape is the basic component which allows the elaboration of the wine. A sweetness deliberately worked by the winemaker according to the desired roundness. Red wine or dry white wine will therefore have fewer calories than a vin doux naturel, a sweet white wine or a dessert white wine. Port, Sauternes, Muscat Beaumes de Venise, Maury, Rivesaltes, Banyuls...all sweet wines!

As for alcohol content, these same wines tend to have a higher alcohol content than dry wines, most of which are around 13%. The alcohol content of these wines has become a parameter that most winemakers need to work on during the vinification process, as global warming tends to reduce the acidity of a wine and increase its alcohol content: wines become more alcoholic if the winemaker is not careful to preserve the freshness of the berries. In any case, this is a fact that can lead to other phenomena, such as changes in the taste of wine over time, changes in consumer tastes intrinsically, and changes in winemaking practices.

So the higher the alcohol content and the sweeter the wine, the higher the calories in your glass! Keep that general guide in mind and you'll be more aware when you have a glass in your hand in the future.

We can see you coming, straw in mouth, sipping by the pool... but given the quantities and the mixtures, there's no doubt that cocktails are not the way to go if you want to fit into your swimming costume. Cocktails are made from strong alcohols, often with fruit juices added to make a real calorie bomb. Sugar and alcohol make an explosive combination, especially if the glass is large.

Cocktails are an art! After all, there are mocktails for those who want to sip them without alcohol. Another school for purists who watch their figure: knowing how to appreciate a spirit for what it is, without even adding ice, is also a good way of getting to know it.