How Many Calories are in a Glass of Wine?

While you will never hear us turning down another glass of wine, there are those who like to live in moderation. And those same people often like to know exactly how the things they are consuming are contributing to their diets. That’s right, we’re talking calories.

We’re here to give you the full rundown on just how far you’ll have to run to work off all those bottles of Merlot you drained back last weekend. Or at least, we’ll give you the calorie count so you can decide whether you want to hit the gym or not.

In general, an average 5 ounce pour of wine will run you somewhere between 105 and 195 calories. Unsurprisingly, white wines will cost you a little less than reds and calorie count goes up when the ABV (alcohol content) does.

On the lower end, for example, a bottle of Riesling or a French Rosé have around 10.5% ABV content and your average pour of the wines could come in at as low as 110 calories per glass. On the higher end, a 15.5% ABV Zinfandel could look something like 190 calories per glass. To put that into perspective, a glass of Riesling is roughly equivalent to one tablespoon of peanut butter while a glass of Zinfandel is more like two tablespoons.

Another way to think about this is in terms of the sweetness of the bottle. A sweeter wine means more sugar, which, of course, means more calories. So, the drier your wine is, the less calories it’s going to have.

This applies to sparkling wine as well. A brut wine that has about half a teaspoon of sugar will have less calories than say, a dry or demi-sec wine with one to two teaspoons of sugar. For example, your average 4 ounce pour of a Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne is about 84 calories, while a glass of Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec is about 98 calories.

So, like most things, if you ever find yourself looking to cut back in the wine department, consider drinking a bottle that’s a little less on the sweet side and you should be just fine.