How many calories are in that wine?

By / Life, Wine + Drinks / May 4th, 2015 / 5

I am a wine-loving athlete. I’m sure I am not alone.

I am by no means a professional (athlete). But, I do train five days a week and take my health very seriously. I run, I crossfit, I weight train and I drink wine. In fact, in my circle of running friends, we openly admit that we run because we drink wine. Who needs to hold onto all those extra calories? How many calories, you may ask? It may surprise you.

Let’s start by getting some perspective. A 5km run at a pace of about 6:00 min/km (10km/hr) burns approximately 285 calories. If you’re a runner, a 5k run is a Monday morning, so no biggie. But, if you’re not, this is harder than it sounds. My super, in-shape partner struggled on a 3km run. All this to say, what may seem like a huge cardiovascular effort for the average person only burns 285 calories!

So, let’s get to the wine. And, let’s start with serving size or what is considered a glass of wine. 5 ounces is a standard serving. Many of us tend to pour more. There are five servings of wine in every 750 ml bottle – not four, not three. This is important when talking calorie content. To generalize, there are approximately 120 calories in one 5 ounce glass of red wine. Wines with higher alcohol content tend to have higher calorie counts. Did you know, that alcohol has seven calories per gram while carbs (evil carbs…?) have only four. If you’re serious about counting your calories, stick to wines in the 10-12% range.

For a detailed look at wine calories by type of wine, check out Shape’s The Best Wine for your Waistline.

Knowledge is power. Go ahead, enjoy that glass of wine. But, I encourage you to enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle too.

Cheers and happy trails!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shannon is an urban soul living (and loving) a small-town, country life. Short term goals include always keeping her wine glass, and outlook on life, half-full. Long term goal…taking her three boys on a 6 month south Pacific adventure. We’ll keep you updated.

Comments are closed.

North America’s Longest Running Food & Wine Magazine

Get Quench-ed!!!

Champion storytellers & proudly independent for over 50 years. Free Weekly newsletter & full digital access