You have probably heard that wine can break your diet. This is bad news, especially if you love having one or two glasses with your meals or when hanging out with friends. Well, here is the truth. You can indulge in a glass of your favorite Pinot noir without breaking your low carbs diet.
You do not have to give up on this satisfying habit because you are on a diet. The secret is to look for tasty low-carb alternatives to the full-bodied options. Wines that have low carbs often have lower residual sugars and alcohol.
Unfortunately, you cannot find the nutrition label on a bottle of wine. So, how can you identify which wines are low carb when you see them? The answer is right here in this post!
How to Identify Low Carbs Wines
When checking wines on the shelves, there are specific components that you should look for to recognize wines that are low in carbs. Here are some of the important ones.
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ABV (Alcohol by Volume)
The ABV of wine is required to be specified on the label. This is a simple way to know the carb content of a wine bottle. Check the percentage of the Alcohol by Volume or simply ABV on the label. If it is 13% or less, it is a low-carb wine. However, if it is higher than this, you may want to reconsider, even if it used to be your favorite wine.
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Residual Sugar
Wines that are low in residual sugar are usually low in carbs. It can be a little difficult to identify the residual sugar content in a wine from the label. However, there is always a way around these things. If you find a wine that you think will be great to pair with your dinner, take a moment to visit the official website of the winemaker.
Navigate to the technical sheet of the wine and you will find the technical details of the wine. Low-carb wines are usually less than ten grams per liter.
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Dry Taste
If you are unable to identify the amount of residual sugar in your preferred wine, you can check it out by tasting it. Wines that are bone dry usually contain less sugar content. However, if it tastes sweet, you should be cautious of the carbs content. The rule of the thumb is that the drier the taste of the wine, the lower the residual sugar content.
Some varieties of wines with a dry taste and low carbs are Champagne, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Wines, such as Moscato, Port, and Plum are high in carbs because they contain more residual sugar.
Average Carbs in Low Carbs Wines
Different winemakers produce wines using a different fermentation process. However, there is a general guide for the estimated carb content of a 5-ounce glass. The wine with the lowest carb is Extra Brut Champagne, which has only one gram of carb.
Sauvignon blanc and Pinot Grigio have three grams while Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Gamay have 3.2 grams, 3.4 grams, and 3.5 grams, respectively. Cabernet Franc, on the other hand, has 3.6 grams.
These are low-carb wines that you can consider when you want to enjoy a glass of wine. There are other low carbs wines but these are some of the lowest and tastiest options you can explore.
Conclusion
Although it is possible to find low-carb wines that you can enjoy, you have to be careful not to overindulge. It is easy to move from one glass to the next based on the assumption that you are taking low carbs wine. The fact is that fewer carbs in several glasses add up pretty much fast. Before you know it, you might have consumed more than your fair share of wine on a diet.