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How do residual sugars translate into carbs?

G golfandpinotnutMember
Okay, I've read a couple of "old" threads debating the ins and outs of the Akins diet. I'm ot really interested in debating dieting per se. What I want to know is how do residual sugars impact the total carb count in a glass of wine. Can anyof our winemakers help me out on this?

If I'm watching my carbs, isn't it safe to assume that a big fruit bomb zinfandel is going to have more carbs than a dry white wine? Part of the problem is there seems to be no reliable data on carb count from wine X to wine Y. I know the traditional wisdom is that red wine has 2 grams of carbs and white wine has just under 1 gram. I'm willing to bet that my glass or Martinelli Guiseppe & Louisa has significantly more carbs than a Shafer Cab.

Anybody have any insight on this?

Semper ubi sub ubi!
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winetarelliwinetarelliMember
GZN,

All I can do is offer you speculation on this issue. However, I'm not certain that being a fruit bomb, in and of itself, is sufficient to have a raised carb amount in a wine. I suspect the reasons that reds tend to have higher carbs is because of the tannin and, concievably, because they often have higher dry extract levels. Deffinitionally, a higher residual sugar content would translate into higher carbs, but "fruit bombs" are often fermented dry. Zins such as Coturri's and Ridge Late Harvest, as well as wines typically classified as off-dry or sweet will deffinitely have higher carb levels.

a

"What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?" -- W.C. Fields
G grossieMember
G&Z-

I don't think the "fruit bomb-ness" indicates sugar. "Dryness" does though, but only in it's true meaning, and that is that there is no residual sugar. Many wines are in-between dry and sweet (eg German reisling Kabinetts, esp the halbtrocken).

The more sugar a grape starts with (brix) the higher % alcohol it can produce, but it would also depend on the type of yeast that is used. Varieties of yeast are where my knowlede falls completely flat.

********
Yes, but I came here for an argument.

Oh! Oh! I'm sorry, this is abuse.
D drtannin 2Member
GZN-
The answer to ? no. 2 is yes.

Residual sugar is carbs, but basically insignificant in absolute terms in dry red wine(<10 CAL/btl).

The fruitiness of wine comes from glycerol not residual glucose or fructose. Glycerol content often doubles in botrytized wine. Glycerol sweetness is equivalent to glucose. Ethanol, the main non water component also has a slight sweetness above 4%.

Tannins are noncaloric. The glucosides are released with polymerization.

[This message was edited by dr.tannin aka x-man on Jan 22, 2004 at 09:03 PM.]
Last edited {1}
I ilduceMember
All this being said, how long before the first "low carb" wine is released? Reality is meaningless when it comes to marketing.

******************************
I intend to die in a tavern; let the wine be placed near my dying mouth, so that when the choirs of angels come, they may say, "God be merciful to this drinker!"
Walter Map [Mapes] c. 1140 - c. 1210
De Nugis Curialium
F fsuwineguyMember
I dont know much on this topic, but what I can offer is this: We all know (or should know) that the basic wine-making formula is Sugar + Yeast = alcohol + CO2. The grapes have some natural sugar, and some of it is going to be converted into alcohol. Roughly speaking, each gram of alcohol has approximately 7 kcal/gram and sugar (Carbs) has approximately 4 kcal/gram. It would be my assumption that wines with more residual sugar would naturally have more kcals from Carbs, rather than alcohol. Therefore, it would be my assumption that if you were on a carb -restricted diet, you'd want to be very careful when consuming very sweet, dessert-style wines that might be high in residual sugars and low in alcohol.

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