For the sake of the grape, we’re going to use the guidelines below for the Sugar Slash. But first, let me preface by saying:
Boo! The FDA does not require wine manufacturer’s to list
ingredients on their labels.
Yay! Most of the sugar in wines is naturally occurring from the
grapes used to make it. During fermentation, the sugar turns to alcohol. The
longer it ferments, the less sugar, the more alcohol.
Boo! Alcohol has more calories than sugar (alcohol 7 cal/gram;
sugar & carbs 4 cal/gram)– so less caloric wine has a LOWER ABV (alcohol by
volume) rate.
Boo – and Yay?! Some wines do use added sugar to increase the
length of fermentation, which consequently increases the alcohol content.
Depends which of the two evils you may need on any given day J
So….for the challenge, to establish an
overall guideline, if you want to “spend your sugar teaspoons on wine” here’s
what the "sugar spend" is for a 5 ounce serving:
Dry Champagne: ~2.5 to 4.5 grams: 1
Teaspoon
Dry White (e.g.
Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay): ~3 grams: 1 teaspoon
”Off Dry” (e.g.
Reisling, Chenin Blanc): ~5 to 6
grams: 1.5 teaspoons
Muscat:~8 grams: 2 teaspoons
Dry Red (e.g.
Syrah, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sav.): ~3.5 to 4 grams: 1 teaspoon
Zinfindel: 4.2 grams: 1 teaspoon
Dessert Wines & Regular Champagne: 12 to 14 grams: 3
teaspoons
Sweet Late
Harvest Wine: 20 grams: 5
teaspoons
And What About Beer, you ask?
Just saying, Michelob
Ultra…2.6 carbs and contains NO sugar!
Shiner Blonde….3.8 carbs and
NO sugar.
Moderation, moderation, moderation…
Cheers!
Cheers!
Thanks for the data- Whether I like the data or not, it is knowledge...
ReplyDeleteNow here's my logic... I know that alcohol absorbs into the blood stream. I know it can do this starting in the mouth, so if I hold each sip of wine in my mouth for 1 minute, the 5oz should be able to get me far enough :)
Ready for the journey to begin...at least I'm ready for the results :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat is good news on the Beer front! I had been most challenged by what I assumed would be the need to essentially give up all beer to accomplish this challenge. If you know me, you'll know I typically am not seen with a Michelob Ultra style beer, but prefer craftier beers. I did some looking into these and their relation to added sugar and found that plenty of "craft" beers still have relatively low carbs. Unfortunately my favorite styles have higher gravity and unfermented sugars which I'll have to consider. I'll take this opportunity to try some new brews that are "highly attenuated" (sugars fully consumed).
ReplyDeleteI found this below explanation the most helpful...
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In brewing, most sugars are consumed during the fermentation process. In some styles, there are a lot of residual sugars due to carmelization during the boil, or due to high mashing temperatures. These long chained and carmelized sugars are difficult or impossible for the yeast to metabolize so they remain in the beer adding body and sweetness.
So to avoid these, you need to stay with the paler beers. North German Pilsners, similar to Heineken, Bitburger, etc would be a good choice. Avoid the heavier pale ales, staying with the lighter bodied ones, and avoid the amber ales and lagers. These have carmel sugars from both carmelization in the boil and crystal malts in the grain bill. Crystal malts are highly malted grains that have been kilned in such a way that the converted sugars form a grain of sugar inside the grain itself. These are used for adding body and a sweetness to the beer.
Amber ales and lagers use these.
German wheats, and belgian wits tend to be on the sweet, full bodied side too. Dark beers such as bocks and stouts also have a relatively high percentage of sugars compared to lighter pilsners. The drier belgian ales are another option, Duvel and other light bodied triples, Chimay, for instance have lower sugar content and have been attentuated well producing higher alcohol levels.
So bottom line is you want a fully or highly attenuated beer. One with a low final gravity, indicating that the sugars have been fermented out. A lot of craft beers give you an indication of this on the labels.
The german Kolsch is another highly attenuated beer. These like the others are lighter in body.
Beers made with pilsner malt rather than pale malt will be in this category.
You might try checking out www.beeradvocate.com which contains reviews of many beers as well a a guide to styles and the beers that fall within them. Today, with the craft brew revolution, style guidelines are becoming more blurred. For instance, Sierra Nevada sold as a pale ale in the US would be a IPA in Europe. Beers are tending to get bigger bodied and more hoppier. Check the listings under Euro Pale Lager, German Kolsch, American Pale Ale, Cream Ale
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style
above taken from...http://en.allexperts.com/q/Beer-2269/2012/2/sugar-beer-lager.htm
Cheers