At Berryhill Family Vineyards, we consider a glass of wine to be one of the simple and necessary pleasures of life. Many people find comfort in the ritual of drinking wine with dinner or in celebration of special occasions and accomplishments. If drinking and enjoying wine is part of your daily lifestyle, then it’s important to understand how wine can impact your health. We all know that wine provides important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and is known to reduce the risk of heart disease. But when it comes to caloric content, how many calories really are in wine? More specifically, how many calories are in a bottle of white wine?
Keep reading to learn how many calories are in a bottle of white wine, what key differences make white wine and red wine different, and what vital health benefits wine has to offer.
How Many Calories Are in a Bottle of White Wine?
To get directly to the most important question at hand, bottles of white wine generally contain between 550 to 680 calories. Of course, each wine is different, and the caloric content differs based on the specific type of white wine, as well as individual differences between wine makers. To break it down further, here are the typical caloric contents for the most popular varieties of white wine:
- Chardonnay: 615 calories per 750 ml bottle
- Muscat: 615 calories per 750 ml bottle
- Pinot Grigio: 610 calories per 750 ml bottle
- Sauvignon Blanc: 595 calories per 750 ml bottle
- Chenin Blanc: 595 calories per 750 ml bottle
- Reisling: 595 calories per 750 ml bottle
- Champagne: 570 calories per 750 ml bottle
What Are the Health Differences Between White and Red Wine?
While some people may think the difference between white and red wine is simply in the color of the grapes that are pressed, stored in vats, and fermented to perfection, grape color is not the only differentiating factor between white and red wine. All wine is made from fermented grape juice, but the order in which the fermentation and juicing processes occur varies from batch to batch. Red wine is always made from red varietals of grapes, while white wine can be made from either red or white varietals of grapes—in the case of white wine, the difference lies in the pressing, juicing, and fermentation processes.
The Difference Comes In the Juicing and Fermentation Process
In the process of making white wine, the grapes are pressed and then the juice is separated from the skins, seeds, and stems. After the straining and removal of the plant parts, the juice is then transferred to buckets or vats and stored for extended periods of time to allow for proper fermentation. Much of the pigmentation of wine comes from the skins of the grapes that are pressed, so the removal of the skins before fermentation makes for a lighter-colored wine.
On the other hand, red wine is made from red varietals of grapes, and gains much of its rich colors and vibrant hues from the grape skins. Contrary to the process of making white wine, when making red wine the crushed grapes are stored in vats and buckets to ferment before being strained of the plant parts. The presence of the skin, seeds, and stems during fermentation adds to both the coloring and nutritional value of the wine, since the plant parts contain tannins and resveratrol.
Learn more about how white wine is made.
Higher Plant Contents During Fermentation Leads to Higher Nutritional Contents
Because red wine undergoes fermentation with the skin, seeds, and stems which contain additional nutritional plant compounds, more of those compounds are transferred to the juice that is ultimately strained out. Red wine is famously known to help reduce the risk of heart disease, as the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in red wine in significant quantities all contribute to protecting and strengthening the cardiovascular system.
Despite the well-known health benefits associated with red wine, white wine also contains many of the same important nutrients, just in less concentrated amounts. The other main health difference between white and red wine lies in their caloric contents. Red wine contains higher caloric counts than white wine as a result of undergoing the fermentation process in the presence of more calorie-containing plant parts. Additionally, red wine contains higher alcohol content than white wine for the same reason. For these reasons, white wine is often preferred as the lighter option.
What Are the Specific Health Benefits of White Wine?
While white wine does, admittedly, contain a less robust number of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than red wine, that does not mean it is entirely without those important nutrients! White wine contains significant amounts of the following nutrients, and when you consider the lower calorie count found in white wine compared to red wine, it’s no wonder many people prefer white wine when considering their own personal health concerns and goals.
- Flavonoids—helps regulate cellular activity and fight oxidative stress
- Polyphenols—anti-inflammatory, helps reduce risk of cancer
- Caffeic Acid—helps reduce oxidative stress, prevents kidney diseases, boosts collagen and prevents aging
- Magnesium—lowers blood sugar and blood pressure, helps maintain heart health and strength, strengthens bones, promotes muscle relaxation
- Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)—helps transport oxygen through the bloodstream, strengthens the immune system, boosts circulation
- Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)—helps break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, boosts energy levels
- Vitamin B3 (Niacin)—helps lower cholesterol, contributes to healthy skin, improves brain function, may help relieve arthritis symptoms
- Iron—necessary for the body’s production of hemoglobin and myoglobin, helps supply the body with oxygen, aids the body in growth and development
- Calcium—helps maintain bone health and strength, contributes to healthy nerves, regulates blood flow, aids muscle strength and mobility
- Potassium—a vital electrolyte, regulates heartbeat, improves muscle and nerve function, helps filter cell waste
- Phosphorus—strengthens bones and teeth, removes kidney waste, contributes to healthy DNA and RNA, helps repair damaged tissues
- Zinc—strengthens the immune system, improves metabolism
Shop our selection of both red and white wines, from grapes grown on Northern California soil.
