I recently had the opportunity to sample a new brand of white wine. It was excellent. As good, in fact, as any nice sauvignon blanc I’ve enjoyed.
What caught my attention, however, was the bottle. It touted a nutrition facts label. We don’t often see nutrition labels on alcoholic beverages because alcohol is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Instead these products are under the guidance of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. So, unlike food products, nutrition labeling on alcohol is only required if the manufacturer makes a nutrition claim such as “light” beer. This particular wine boasted “zero sugar” on its bottle. So there you go.
As I studied the label, I was curious how the sugar content in this product differs from a usual glass of sauvignon blanc … or any other type of wine for that matter.
So here’s the deal. Wine cannot be made without sugar. It’s the natural sugars (carbs) in grapes that are fermented into alcohol that make wine possible. Wine makers tell us that some sugar, called “residual sugar,” may be left over at the end of the fermentation process. Sugar or grape juice may also be added to wine for extra sweetness, according to Wine Spectator. But this is not common for higher quality wines.
