Expect about 122 calories in a 175 ml glass of 12.5% dry white or rosé, and 132 in a 13.5% red. A US 5 oz pour comes to about 103 for the white and 111 for the red. Almost all of it comes from the alcohol, not sugar. Only dessert wines and sweet fortified wines climb much higher, to about 200 to 255 for the same 175 ml.
So between two dry wines, the number that matters is the alcohol percentage on the label, not the colour. Below you’ll find the figures by style and by glass size, the two-step method to work out any bottle yourself, and how wine stacks up against beer, spirits, cider and mulled wine. Every figure on this page is worked out the same way, so they all compare with each other.
Calories in a glass of wine by style
Our assumptions: a typical ABV and residual sugar for each style. Your bottle may be a few calories either side, depending on its exact strength.
| Wine style | ABV used | Residual sugar used | Per 100 ml | 5 oz glass (148 ml) | 175 ml glass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry white | 12.5% | 2 g/L | 70 | 103 | 122 |
| Dry rosé | 12.5% | 3 g/L | 70 | 104 | 123 |
| Dry red | 13.5% | 2 g/L | 75 | 111 | 132 |
| Brut Champagne or crémant | 12% | 8 g/L | 69 | 103 | 122 |
| Prosecco (extra dry) | 11% | 15 g/L | 67 | 99 | 117 |
| Medium-sweet white (Vouvray moelleux) | 12.5% | 30 g/L | 81 | 120 | 142 |
| Dessert wine (Sauternes, Monbazillac) | 13.5% | 120 g/L | 123 | 181 | 215 |
| Sweet fortified wine (Banyuls, Muscat de Rivesaltes) | 16% | 100 g/L | 128 | 190 | 225 |
Calories by glass size
UK pubs and bars usually pour 125 ml, 175 ml or 250 ml. In the US, the standard pour is 5 oz, about 148 ml. A 150 ml glass is a common restaurant pour in plenty of other places.
| Pour | Dry white (12.5%) | Dry red (13.5%) | Brut Champagne (12%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 ml (UK small glass) | 87 | 94 | 87 |
| 5 oz, 148 ml (US standard pour) | 103 | 111 | 103 |
| 150 ml | 105 | 113 | 104 |
| 175 ml (UK medium glass) | 122 | 132 | 122 |
| 250 ml (UK large glass, a third of a bottle) | 175 | 188 | 174 |
| 750 ml bottle | 524 | 565 | 521 |
A dry rosé lands within a calorie of the white. A whole bottle of dry wine comes to about 500 to 590 calories depending on its strength; for bigger formats, see our guide to wine bottle sizes and names. The glass itself changes nothing: 175 ml in a huge Burgundy bowl is still 175 ml.
Why other sites quote higher numbers
A figure you’ll often see quoted for red wine, about 125 calories for a 5 oz glass, comes from the USDA’s nutrition database. Our figure for the same pour is 111. The gap is about method, not the wine. The database counts everything in the wine that isn’t water, alcohol, protein or ash as carbohydrate (glycerol, acids and so on) at 4 calories a gram, while our sum counts only alcohol and sugar. Figures that include those extras come out roughly 11 calories higher per 125 ml glass, 14 per 5 oz and 16 per 175 ml. It never changes the ranking.
The quickest check is on the bottle. Wines sold in the EU and produced since 8 December 2023, imports included, must print their energy value per 100 ml on the label, often shown with an “E”. Outside the EU, including the UK and the US, the figure isn’t always there. When it is, multiply it by 1.75 for a 175 ml glass, or by about 1.5 for a 5 oz pour.
How to work out the calories in any glass of wine
There are two steps. First the alcohol: a 175 ml glass of a 13% wine holds about 18 grams of ethanol (175 ml x 0.13 x 0.789 g/ml), and each gram of alcohol carries 7 calories, so about 126 calories. Then the residual sugar, at 4 calories a gram: under a gram in a glass of dry wine, so next to nothing, but about 18 to 26 grams in a 175 ml glass of Sauternes, which is another 70 to 105 calories.
The shortcut worth remembering:
- In a 175 ml glass, each 1% of ABV is worth a little under 10 calories (9.7), and each gram of sugar per litre adds 0.7.
- In a 5 oz glass, each 1% of ABV is worth about 8 calories, and each gram of sugar per litre adds 0.6.
A 14% Malbec in a 175 ml glass: about 137 calories. A Sauternes at 13.5% with 120 g/L of sugar, same glass: 13.5 x 9.7 + 120 x 0.7, so about 215.
The shortcut shows what really matters. Between a light 11.5% white and a big 14.5% red, the gap is about 29 calories per 175 ml glass, more than all the sugar in any dry wine. And a German Riesling Kabinett at 8.5%, even with around 35 g/L of sugar, comes in at about 107 per 175 ml, less than a standard dry white.
Calories in red, white and rosé wine
Red wine: about 132 per 175 ml glass
A 13.5% dry red has about 132 calories in a 175 ml glass and 111 in a 5 oz pour. Across the usual 12.5% to 14.5% range, that is roughly 120 to 140 per 175 ml. Red’s reputation as the most fattening dry wine comes only from its strength: at the same ABV, red, white and rosé are within a calorie of each other. A Beaujolais or a Loire red around 12.5% sits at the bottom of the range, while a 15% Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Zinfandel goes past 145 per 175 ml.
White wine: about 122 per 175 ml glass
A 12.5% dry white has about 122 calories in 175 ml, or 103 in a 5 oz pour. A Muscadet at around 12% drops to about 117, and a 14% Chardonnay from a warm region or a Viognier climbs to about 137. With white wine, sugar only matters once the wine actually tastes sweet (more on that below).
Rosé: about 123 per 175 ml glass
A dry 12.5% rosé in the Provence style has about 123 calories per 175 ml glass, practically the same as a dry white. Sweeter rosés are a different story. Cabernet d’Anjou keeps at least 10 g/L of sugar and often more, and American White Zinfandel is usually made off-dry to sweet. Add roughly 7 calories per 175 ml glass for every 10 g/L of sugar, though some of these wines, many White Zinfandels among them, are lower in alcohol, which claws part of it back.
Champagne, prosecco and other sparkling wine
A brut Champagne has about 87 calories in a 125 ml glass and 122 in 175 ml, the same as a dry white. It’s often a little lower in alcohol, around 12 to 12.5% on the label, sometimes 13% or a bit more in warm years (whatever the 15% headlines said), but the dosage adds a little sugar. In a flute poured to about 100 ml, it’s around 70 calories. Brut nature and extra brut save up to 4 calories per 125 ml glass, while demi-sec adds about 12 to 20.
Prosecco is lighter in alcohol, about 11%, but it’s often sold as extra dry, with 12 to 17 g/L of sugar. A 125 ml glass, a common UK pour for fizz, has about 83 calories, and a 175 ml glass about 117. Pét-nat works the same way, from its ABV and its sugar, both of which vary a lot from one bottle to the next.
How many calories in sweet, dessert and fortified wine?
This is the only family where sugar makes a real dent in the total.
- Medium-sweet wines (12 to 45 g/L of sugar, such as a Vouvray moelleux): about 130 to 150 calories per 175 ml glass.
- Dessert wines (Sauternes, Monbazillac, often 100 to 150 g/L at 13.5 to 14%): about 200 to 240 per 175 ml, but nobody pours that much. A typical 75 ml dessert-wine glass comes to about 85 to 105.
- Sweet fortified wines (Banyuls, Maury, Muscat de Rivesaltes, at 15 to 17% and 80 to 130 g/L): about 200 to 255 per 175 ml, though a 75 ml glass is the usual pour, at 85 to 110. Muscat de Rivesaltes, for one, must keep at least 100 g/L of sugar.
- Port, at around 20% and 100 g/L: about 90 calories for a 60 ml (2 oz) glass.
How much sugar is in a glass of wine?
In a dry wine, almost all the grape sugar has turned into alcohol. What’s left is usually under 4 grams per litre, so under 0.7 grams in a 175 ml glass. Here are the orders of magnitude, per 175 ml glass:
- Dry wine: under 0.7 grams of sugar
- Brut Champagne: under 2.1 grams
- Prosecco, extra dry: about 2 to 3 grams
- Medium-sweet wine: about 2 to 8 grams
- Dessert wine such as Sauternes: about 18 to 26 grams
- Sweet fortified wine: about 14 to 23 grams
It works the other way round from what many people think. From the same grapes, the stronger the wine, the less sugar it keeps, because that sugar has become alcohol. The one exception is fortified wine (port, Banyuls, Muscat de Rivesaltes): spirit is added to stop the fermentation, so the sugar stays. That makes them the strongest wines on the shelf and among the sweetest, hence their numbers. In a dry wine, the calories come from the alcohol, and sugar only makes the difference in sweet and fortified wines.
How many calories in mulled wine?
A 150 ml cup of mulled wine has roughly 150 to 230 calories, or 100 to 150 per 100 ml. The wine itself accounts for about 108 of that (a 13% red). Everything else is the sugar or honey, which runs from 50 to 150 g per bottle depending on the recipe.
The maths is simple: every 50 g of sugar per bottle adds about 40 calories to a 150 ml cup. A lightly sweetened batch (50 g per bottle) is about 150 calories a cup, a generous one at 150 g is about 230. A big 200 ml mug, a common Christmas-market size, is a third more again: about 200 to 300 calories for the same recipe.
And no, heating the wine doesn’t get rid of the calories. Warmed gently and served straight away, it keeps most of its alcohol. If it simmers or sits on the heat for a long time it loses more, sometimes a good share, but never all of it. Our figures assume it keeps all its alcohol, so they are the top of the range.
To lighten it without making it sad, use less sugar (plenty of recipes sit around 60 to 120 g per bottle, and a really ripe orange already brings some sweetness), and serve it in small cups.
Wine vs beer, spirits and cider
The same method throughout: alcohol at 7 calories a gram, sugar and other carbohydrates at 4.
| Drink | Serving | Assumptions | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry red wine | 175 ml | 13.5%, 2 g/L sugar | 132 |
| Dry white wine | 175 ml | 12.5%, 2 g/L sugar | 122 |
| Dry red wine, US pour | 5 oz (148 ml) | 13.5%, 2 g/L sugar | 111 |
| Lager, UK pint | 568 ml | 4.5%, about 3.5 g carbs per 100 ml | 221 |
| Beer, US bottle or can | 12 oz (355 ml) | 5%, about 3.5 g carbs per 100 ml | 148 |
| IPA, US pint | 16 oz (473 ml) | 6.5%, about 4.5 g carbs per 100 ml | 255 |
| Spirit, UK single measure | 25 ml | 40%, no sugar | 55 |
| Spirit, US shot | 1.5 oz (44 ml) | 40%, no sugar | 98 |
| Port | 60 ml (2 oz) | 20%, 100 g/L sugar | 90 |
| Cider, UK pint | 568 ml | 4.5%, 20 to 40 g/L sugar | 185 to 230 |
| Mulled wine | 150 ml cup | 13% red, 50 to 150 g sugar per bottle | 150 to 230 |
| Cola, for comparison | 330 ml can | 10.6 g sugar per 100 ml | 140 |
Wine or beer: which has more calories?
Serving for serving, beer usually comes out ahead: about 148 calories for a US 12 oz beer at 5%, against 111 for a 5 oz glass of red. Part of beer’s calories come from the carbohydrates left after fermentation, and those vary a lot from one beer to another, so published figures differ. The UK pint is where the gap opens up: about 220 for a 4.5% lager, against 132 for a 175 ml glass of red. Stronger craft beers climb fast, and a 16 oz pour of 6.5% IPA is around 255.
Wine or spirits: which has more calories?
A UK single (25 ml at 40%) is about 55 calories and a US 1.5 oz shot about 98. Spirits only come out ahead when the measure is small or the wine is sweet. A 40 ml pour at 40%, common in France, carries about as much alcohol as a 125 ml glass of wine, so about as many calories (88). Add a sugary mixer and the spirit drink overtakes the wine.
And cider?
Cider holds its own by the half-pint but not by the pint. A UK half of 4.5% cider comes to about 95 to 115 calories, a little more than a 125 ml glass of wine, while a UK pint of 4.5% cider is about 185 to 230 calories, depending on how sweet it is.
Which alcoholic drink has the fewest calories?
At equal alcohol, the alcohol itself counts the same everywhere: 7 calories a gram, whether it comes from wine, beer or whisky. What separates two drinks is how much alcohol is in the serving, then the sugar and other carbohydrates that come with it, from beer, cider, sweet wine or a sugary mixer. The lightest options are small servings that are low in both: a small glass of a lighter dry wine, a half of light beer, a single measure of spirit with soda water or a diet mixer. The heaviest: pints of strong beer, sugary cocktails, mulled wine and dessert wine in a big glass.
How many calories in alcohol-free wine?
Dealcoholised wine has at most 0.5% ABV, and many bottles sold as alcohol-free go lower still, to 0.05% or even 0.0% (UK guidance currently keeps the words “alcohol-free” for 0.05% or less). At 0.5%, the alcohol is worth only about 5 calories in a 175 ml glass. The rest comes from sugar, sometimes added back as grape must or sugar to give the wine some body. Depending on the wine, expect roughly 15 to 55 calories per 175 ml glass, or 10 to 40 per 125 ml, well below a regular wine. Bottles sold in the EU and produced since December 2023 print their energy value on the label, which is the easiest way to settle it.
Does wine make you put on weight?
Wine calories count like any others, and they bring almost nothing else with them: no protein, no fibre, very few vitamins. Three things are worth knowing if you’re watching your weight:
- Alcohol goes first. Your body clears it before anything else, and while it’s doing that, it burns less fat.
- Alcohol tends to sharpen your appetite. The snacks that come with the glass often weigh more than the glass.
- Habit matters more than the odd glass. Two 175 ml glasses every evening add up to about 1,700 to 1,850 calories a week. Studies on moderate drinking and weight give mixed results; regular heavier drinking is more consistently linked to weight gain.
If you want to keep your glass: pick lower-alcohol wines (each 1% less saves about 10 calories per 175 ml glass), ask for 125 ml instead of 175 ml (that alone saves 35 to 40 calories a glass), alternate with water, and keep dessert wines to dessert-sized pours. On a keto or low-carb plan, a dry wine has under a gram of sugar per glass, but its alcohol still counts. We go further, keto and other diets included, in our piece on wine and diet.
On the health side, UK guidance is no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days. A 175 ml glass of 13.5% red is 2.4 units, so a bottle is about 10. In the US, a standard drink is 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is a 5 oz glass of 12% wine, so a 5 oz pour of a 13.5% red is a little over one. If you’d like help cutting back, Drinkaware in the UK and the NIAAA’s Rethinking Drinking in the US are good places to start.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories are in a glass of red wine?
About 132 calories in a 175 ml glass of 13.5% red, and 111 in a US 5 oz pour. Across the usual 12.5% to 14.5% range, that is roughly 120 to 140 per 175 ml. Almost all of it is alcohol: a dry red has well under a gram of sugar per glass. Red only edges out white because it tends to be a little stronger.
How many calories are in a glass of white wine?
About 122 calories in a 175 ml glass of 12.5% dry white, or 103 in a 5 oz pour. Medium-sweet whites run to about 130 to 150 per 175 ml. Dessert wines like Sauternes carry far more, but they are usually poured in 75 ml glasses, which come to about 85 to 105 calories.
How many calories are in a glass of rosé?
About 123 calories in a 175 ml glass of dry 12.5% rosé, practically the same as a dry white. Sweeter rosés add roughly 7 calories per 175 ml glass for every 10 g/L of sugar, although some of them are lower in alcohol, which claws part of that back.
How many calories are in a glass of Champagne or prosecco?
About 87 calories in a 125 ml glass of brut Champagne at 12%, about 70 in a 100 ml flute, and 122 in a 175 ml glass. Prosecco, at about 11% and often extra dry, comes to about 83 per 125 ml. Brut nature saves up to 4 calories per 125 ml glass, while demi-sec adds about 12 to 20.
How many calories are in a bottle of wine?
A 750 ml bottle of dry wine has about 500 to 590 calories depending on its strength: about 524 for a 12.5% white and 565 for a 13.5% red. A full bottle of a Sauternes-style dessert wine comes to around 920.
Does wine make you put on weight?
Wine calories count like any others: about 120 to 140 per 175 ml glass of dry wine, with almost no other nutrients. Your body deals with alcohol first, which slows fat burning while it does, and alcohol tends to sharpen appetite. An occasional glass makes little difference, but two 175 ml glasses every evening add up to about 1,700 to 1,850 calories a week.
How many calories are in alcohol-free wine?
Dealcoholised wine has at most 0.5% ABV, and many bottles sold as alcohol-free go lower still, so the alcohol is worth 5 calories or less in a 175 ml glass. The rest comes from sugar, sometimes added back for body, so expect roughly 15 to 55 calories per 175 ml glass depending on the wine. Wine sold in the EU and produced since December 2023 shows the energy value on the label.
How many calories are in a glass of mulled wine?
About 150 to 230 calories in a 150 ml cup, or 100 to 150 per 100 ml. The wine itself provides about 108 of that and the rest is added sugar or honey, typically 50 to 150 g per bottle. A 200 ml mug of the same recipe comes to about 200 to 300. Warmed gently without boiling and served straight away, mulled wine keeps most of its alcohol, so most of its calories.
