How many calories are in a 750mL bottle of wine?
When choosing a bottle of wine, rarely do we think about checking calorie content since we tend to check for other things such as ABV, so how many calories does wine contain, anyway?
On average, a single red wine grape has about 25 calories. But of course, that's just an average and it really depends on the type of grape as well as how old the wine is. Generally speaking, though, older wines tend to have fewer calories while newly-fermented wines have more. So a bottle of two-year-old Merlot is going to have fewer calories than a bottle of last year's Sauvignon Blanc.
What does that mean in terms of an actual glass or bottle of wine, though? A four-ounce pour of red wine has, on average, about 100 calories, and since most winemakers do not list the calorie content on their bottles (probably because they don't want to turn customers away!), we can estimate that a standard 750mL bottle of red wine has around 625 calories. Also, as mentioned in our blog post about nutrition labels, manufacturers are not required to include such a label, but they do need to state the wine's ABV and if it contains added sulfites.
Interestingly enough, white wines have fewer calories than red wines on average. Part of the reason is because white wine grapes naturally have less sugar than red wine grapes. So a four-ounce pour of white wine has, on average, 96 calories. However, if you notice a white wine being sweeter than a red, that is mostly because of backsweetening; the process of adding something sweet after fermentation, such as a simple syrup or more juice for added flavors.
Now, you are probably thinking that dry wines contain fewer calories than semi-sweet or sweet wines, and, for the most part, you are correct. However, caloric count does not stem entirely from the sugar content, but also from the alcohol content, so some sweet wines can actually have lower caloric content by sheer virtue of having lower alcohol.
So there you have it: the next time you're looking for a bottle of wine, don't forget to factor in how many calories you want to consume! And if you're really watching your calorie intake, maybe stick to white wines. Cheers!
