Wine

Food · Drink · Food, Typed Supps

Most of the energy in any wine is the alcohol itself, not the sugar.

Stage by stage

Intake (Gastric absorption begins): Some ethanol crosses the stomach wall directly; food in the stomach slows the process.
Absorption (Rapid uptake): Most is absorbed in the small intestine within minutes; strength decides the dose per glass.
Clearance (Liver oxidises ethanol): The liver clears alcohol at a near-fixed rate, roughly one standard drink an hour.
Central effects (Central nervous system): Circulating ethanol acts on the central nervous system until the liver has cleared it.

Time to effect

Under an hour: Blood alcohol peaks around 30 to 60 minutes after drinking, faster on an empty stomach.

Allergens

Contains: Sulphites. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Kosher, Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Environmental footprint

1.8 kg CO2e and 108 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Wine" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Pricey — roughly £12 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Alcohol
Residual sugar

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 69
Protein: 0.2g
Carbohydrate: 0.7g
of which sugars: 0.7g
Fat: 0g
of which saturated: 0g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 5mg

Food vs. supplement

Resveratrol capsules exist because of the wine polyphenol story, but the amount in a glass is tiny and the supplement trials have not delivered. There is no nutrient in wine worth seeking it out for; the honest framing is a drink enjoyed for what it is.

Kitchen tip

Fortified wines are stable after opening in a way table wine is not — the higher alcohol slows oxidation, so an opened port keeps for weeks in the fridge while an opened rose is past its best in a day or two.

Common myth

"A glass of wine a day is good for your heart." In reality: That finding came from observational data in which the comparison group included people who had stopped drinking because they were unwell. Study designs that avoid the problem find no protective level of intake.