How Many Calories Does Your Glass of Wine has?

Stepping into a grocery store, we would always look out for low calorie food but is that what we do while choosing our wines as well? Probably not. In Fact, even the label of your might not tell you about the calories. It has never been a big matter of concern for most people but if you love to open a bottle of your favourite red wine quite often, then it is important for you to check for calories.

From where does a wine gets calories? There are mainly two sources of calories in red wines- sugar and alcohol. So even if you are consuming a dry wine doesn't makes it free from calories. Surprisingly, it is the alcohol which counts for more calories (7 per gram) than the residual sugar (4 per gram). Putting it in a simpler way, dry wines with less alcohol will have less calories, and a sweet wine🍷 with high alcohol will have a lot of it. Since we know that residual sugar adds low calories, a sweet and low-alcohol wine will always be better than a dry and high-alcohol wine.
Let's have a look on the amount of calories in red wines of Australia. The red wines may range from very light to full bodied. Said that, a it is generally medium or full bodied. The below chart would help you identify the alcohol and calories in red wines of Australia.

ABV%	Calories- Dry Wine (Serving= 150 ml)	Calories- Sweet Wine (Serv
12	91	125
13	103	133
14	111	141
15	119	149

 The sweet wines are measured at residual sugar of 150 g/L which is equal to around 2-3 tsp sugar. While many research might show the benefits of red wines but it is good to be consumed in a limited amount, i.e., 1 or 2 servings a day.

Learn about red wines of Australia

Over the years winemaking has gained immense popularity in Australia. Wine was particularly introduced in this country by the European settlers and in the present day, Australia can be dubbed as one of the leading quality and quantity wine producer. Along with this, Australia has also gained fourth position amongst the largest wine exporters in the word. The dry and warm climate makes the country ideal for producing wines. A major part of the land is covered by vineyards located in different wine regions. In this blog, we will be discovering some of the red wine grown in Australia.

Shiraz
Of all the red wine varieties grown in Australia, Shiraz is the one most produced and is produced in almost all the wine regions. Also known as Syrah in other parts of the world, the Australian Shiraz is known for both still and sparkling styles. A very versatile grape variety, it is deep plum coloured wine which shows complex flavours and aromas.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Often blended with Merlot and Shiraz grapes, Cab Sauv is the second red wine variety most grown in Australia. A food-friendly varietal, it is grown in different warm and cool regions of the country thus showing very different attributes. Warmer region Cab Sauv is generally sweeter although when grown in cooler climate it shows savoury and herbal notes.

Merlot
A classic red wine, it is commonly used in the famous Bordeaux style blends. Some of the most popular wine regions of Australia like Coonawarra and Margaret Region are known for their world class Merlot wines. It generally shows earthy characters along with liquorice, chocolate note as it ripens.

Pinot Noir
A cool climate wine, it has finally found its position as one of the mainstream red wine varieties grown in Australia. Regions like Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and parts of southern WA produce very fine Pinot Noir. It is a dry, more acidic, complex and relatively mild wine which goes well with red meats and oily fishes.

Ranging from complex Shiraz to light Pinot Noir, you can order from a huge variety of red and white wine available here. Enjoy!

The Grenache Wine

Grenache grapes are likely to be produced in warmer regions. The wine finds its roots in Spain and was usually grown in the southern europe in parts of France and Italy. Over the time, it gained popularity and is now grown in many parts of the world. In Australia, Grenache was introduced by James Busby along with some other cutting in the mid of 19th century. Some of the best Grenache wines come from Australia’s renowned wine growing regions- McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley. 

Grenache is a dark colour wine with purple undertones. It is generally characterised by lovely aromas of spice, red plum, cherry elixir, raspberry and over a time may also develop meaty notes. Due to the presence of high alcohol contents, it has a medium-bodied palate.  

Grenache was introduced in Australia because of its robust qualities and was mainly used for Fortified wines. Though it was first grown in the Hunter Valley, Christopher Rawson Penfold later brought the cutting to South Australia where the warm climate proved to be best suitable for Grenache. In the earlier days, Grenache became a popular choice with 80% of Australian winemaking industry producing it. However, towards the end of 1970’s it saw a major decline with the industry taken over by more fruitier Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

But in the recent years, Grenache has again come to the forefront. At present 8,000 acres of South Australian wine growing region is covered by Grenache. One of the best Grenache wine in Australia is their signature GSM (Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre)  blend. Grenache is also widely used for Rose wines. The Barossa Valley Grenache is quite different from that produced in McLaren Vale. The latter is characterised by spicy notes while the Barossa Valley Grenache is more fruitier. Be it as a varietal wine or a blend, grenache has earned a position in the hearts of wine lovers.