Remember that alcohol can dehydrate so drink plenty of water to keep your muscles hydrated and your organs functioning normally.
Inforgraphic courtesy of Fix.com
calories in wine
Calories In Wine — From Fewest To Most
Source: Fix.com
How Many Calories Will You Be Drinking Over The Holidays?
A glass or two of celebratory cheer – a toast to the New Year …
Just a heads up: all of those drinks can really pack a caloric punch. So, just like drinking wisely (and of course, not driving), don’t forget to factor in all those calories.
What, Actually, Is A Drink?
Do you know that a standard alcoholic drink (in the US) is a drink that contains the equivalent of 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol.
That’s the amount of pure alcohol usually found in:
- 12 ounces of beer
- 8 ounces of malt liquor
- 5 ounces of wine
- 1.5 ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey, etc.)
Will Beer Or Wine Affect You Less Than A Cocktail?
A 12 ounce bottle of beer has about the same amount of alcohol as a 5 ounce glass of wine or a 1.5 ounce shot of liquor. Since it is the amount – not the type — of alcohol in your drink that affects you the most, it is not safer to drink beer or wine rather than liquor if you are drinking the same amount of alcohol.
In other words, whether you have two 5 ounce glasses of wine, two 12 ounce bottles of beer, or two 1.5 ounces of liquor either straight or in a mixed drink — you are drinking the same amount of alcohol.
How Many Calories Are In Alcohol?
Alcohol doesn’t fill you up the way food does because it doesn’t register as “food” in your GI tract or brain. Even though it doesn’t fill you up, alcohol does have calories — 7 calories a gram – more than carbs and protein, which clock in at 4 calories a gram and fat which has 9. It may not feel as though you’re putting calories into your body, but the fact is you can drink a lot of calories and still not feel stuffed (perhaps drunk, but not stuffed).
In General:
- 12 ounces of beer has 153 calories and 13.9 grams of alcohol
- 12 ounces of lite beer has 103 calories and 11 grams of alcohol
- 5 ounces red wine has 125 calories and 15.6 grams of alcohol
- 5 ounces of white wine has 121 calories and 15.1 grams of alcohol
- 1 1/2 ounces (a jigger) of 80 proof (40% alcohol) liquor has 97 calories and 14 grams of alcohol
Alcohol And Mixers
The higher the alcoholic content (proof), the greater the number of calories:
- 80-proof vodka (40% alcohol, the most common type) has 64 calories/1oz
- 86-proof vodka (43% alcohol) has 70 calories/1 ounce
- 90-proof vodka (45% alcohol) has 73 calories/1 ounce
- 100-proof vodka (50% alcohol) has 82 calories/1 ounce
When you start adding mixers, the calories in a drink can more than double.
- club soda has no calories
- 8 ounces of orange juice has 112 calories
- 8 ounces of tonic has 83 calories
- 8 ounces of ginger ale has 83 calories
- 8 ounces of tomato juice has 41 calories
- 8 ounces of classic coke has 96 calories
- 8 ounces of cranberry juice has 128 calories
Mixed drinks and fancy drinks can significantly increase the calorie count. The following calories are approximate – bartenders, recipes, and the hand that pours all vary. Use these figures as a guideline.
- Plain martini (2.5 ounces): 160 calories
- Mimosa (4 ounces): 75 calories
- Gin and Tonic (7 ounces): 200 calories
- Mojito: (8 ounces): 214 calories
- Cosmopolitan (4 ounces): 200 calories
- Skinnygirl margarita (4 ounces): 100 calories
- Green apple martini (1 ounce each vodka, sour apple, apple juice): 148 calories
- Bloody Mary (5 ounces): 118 calories
- Coffee liqueur (3 ounces): 348 calories
- Godiva chocolate liqueur (3 ounces): 310 calories
- Vodka and tonic (8 ounces): 200 calories
- Screwdriver (8 ounces): 190 calories
- White Russian (2 ounces of vodka, 1.5 ounces of coffee liqueur, 1.5 ounces of cream): 425 calories
- Rum and Coke (8 ounces): 185 calories
- Chocolate martini: (2 ounces each of vodka, chocolate liqueur, cream, 1/2 ounce of creme de cacao, chocolate syrup): 438 calories
- Jumbo and super-sized drinks with double shots and extra mixers could add up to 1,000 calories or more (a single giant glass of TGI Friday’s frozen mudslide has around 1,100 calories)
- An 8 ounce white Russian made with light cream has 715 calories
- An 8 ounce cup of eggnog has about 343 calories and 19 grams of fat thanks to alcohol, heavy cream, eggs, and sugar
- Mulled wine, a combination of red wine, sugar/honey, spices, orange and lemon peel, has about 210 to 300 calories in 5 ounces, depending on how much sweetener is added
- One cup (8 ounces) of apple cider – without any additives – has 115 calories
- One hot buttered rum has 218 calories
- One Irish coffee has 218 calories
- One cup of coffee with cream and sugar runs at least 50 calories (more if it’s sweet and light)
Approximate Calories in One Ounce Of Various Wines
- Champagne: 19 calories
- Red wine (Burgundy, Cabernet): 25 calories
- Dry white wine (Chablis, Reisling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc): 24 calories
- Rose: 20 calories
- Sweet white wine (Moselle, Sauterne, Zinfandel): 28 calories
- Port (about 20% alcohol): 46 calories
- Sweet dessert wine (Tokaji, Muscat): 47 calories
Beer (12-ounce bottle)
- Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale: 330 calories
- Samuel Adams Boston Lager: 180 calories
- Guinness Extra Stout: 176 calories
- Pete’s Wicked Ale: 174 calories
- Harpoon IPA: 170 calories
- Heineken: 166 calories
- Killian’s Irish Red: 163 calories
- Long Trail: 163 calories
- Molson Ice: 160 calories
- Samuel Adams Brown Ale: 160 calories
- Budweiser: 144 calories
- Bud Light: 110 calories
- Corona Light: 105 calories
- Coors Light: 102 calories
- Heineken Light: 99 calories
- Budweiser Select: 99 calories
- Miller Light: 96 calories
- Amstel Light: 95 calories
- Anheuser Busch Natural Light: 95 calories
- Michelob Ultra: 95 calories
- Miller MGD 64: 64 calories
- Beck’s Premier Light: 64 calories
For more holiday eating and drinking tips get my ebook
available on Amazon. 
How Full Is Your Wine Glass? 3 Things Can Make You Pour Up To 12% More
Do you know how many ounces of wine you pour into your wine glass? Bet you don’t!
A standard serving of wine is 5 ounces (around 125 calories) and probably looks smaller than you think. Wine glasses generally have a much larger capacity — good for savoring the wine, but not good for pouring portion controlled amounts.
Even though we might think we’re in control of how much we’re pouring, visual cues definitely affect how much ends up in the glass.
3 Things That Make A Difference
A new study published in Substance Use and Misuse found that people poured 11.9% more wine into a wide glass than a narrow one. They also poured 12.2% more wine into a glass when the glass was held their hands rather than when they poured into a glass sitting on a table or counter.
Color contrast made a difference, too. People poured 9.2% more white wine into a clear glass than they did red. High contrast between the wine and the glass — for instance red wine in a clear glass — makes it easier to see the level of the wine.
Tip
If you want to be careful about how much wine you’re drinking, go for taller thinner glasses rather that shorter big-bowled ones; stick to red wine – or wine that has color contrast with your glass; and when you pour, put the glass on the table rather that holding it in your hand.
Is There Less Alcohol And Fewer Calories In a Serving Of Wine Than There Is In Beer Or A Standard Drink?
That’s not a trick question. A standard alcoholic drink (in the US) is a drink that contains the equivalent of 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol, or the amount usually found in:
- 12 ounces of beer
- 8 ounces of malt liquor
- 5 ounces of wine (not dessert wine or port)
- 1.5 ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey, etc.)
So, if you’re comparing a standard portion of one form of alcohol to another, there is the approximate equivalent of alcohol in each drink.
But – take note of the portion sizes. If the hand that pours puts 10 ounces of wine into a large wine glass (not unheard of) you are actually getting twice the amount of alcohol that you would get in a 12 ounce bottle of beer of a standard shot glass (1.5 ounces) of 80-proof liquor.
Calories From Alcohol Don’t Make You Feel Full
When you drink your calories your body doesn’t actually feel satisfied. Except for perhaps milk or other protein drinks, fluid intake doesn’t typically trigger production of the hormones that tell your brain that you’ve fed your stomach. Most liquid calories don’t produce “satiety” or the feeling of “being full,” which your brain takes as the cue to stop eating.
This is especially true if you’re slowly sipping your drink — but research has shown that even if the temporary bloat you feel after rapidly downing a beer is no substitute for satiety.
(FYI: even if you don’t feel full, the alcohol you’ve drunk still has 7 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein and 9 calories per gram for fat.)
How Many Calories Are In Your Glass Of Wine?
The standard serving of wine (5 ounces) is probably visually smaller than you think. Wine glasses can generally hold a lot more, and depending on who’s pouring, can be filled with many more than 5 ounces.
Most standard servings of wine have 125-150 calories, but the calories can double depending on the size of the glass and how far it’s filled up. Sweet and dessert wines are more caloric than table wine and champagne, although the serving size is generally smaller.
For comparison, on average, a 12 ounce bottle of beer has around 153 calories and 1.5 ounces (a jigger) of 80 proof liquor has around 97 calories.
As an experiment, try filling up your usual wine glass – using water—to simulate the amount of wine you would usually pour, and then measure that amount in a measuring cup. You might be shocked to find that the serving you’re used to pouring is double the standard serving size.
You may have your preference – most of us do – but whether it’s red, white, dry, sweet, or sparkling, it is really easy to overlook the calories in those long-stemmed glasses.
If you have dessert wine after dinner it’s about double the calories per ounce although the standard serving is less: usually 2 to 3 ounces. So add on about another 100 to 150 calories for each glass of that smooth dessert wine.
Approximate Calories in One Ounce Of Various Wines:
Champagne: 19 calories
Red wine (burgundy, cabernet): 25 calories
Dry white wine (Chablis, reisling, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc): 24 calories
Rose: 20 calories
Sweet white wine (moselle, sauterne, zinfandel): 28 calories
Port (about 20% alcohol): 46 calories
Sweet dessert wine (tokaji, muscat): 47 calories
Sangria: about 22 calories (recipes vary)
For more tips get 30 Ways to Have Low-Calorie Fun in the Sun: Your Guide to Guilt-Free Eating at Picnics, Amusement Parks, Barbecues & Parties available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.