Enjoy a glass of prosecco? Find out more about how many calories and sugar it contains!

There is a perfect chance that when you grab out a glass of prosecco, that you don’t give much thought to what it contains. All you know is that it tastes good, and you enjoy having a glass full of it after a busy day.

Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with indulging in a spot of prosecco, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should ignore the ingredients and what it could mean to health.

It is a well-known fact that many of the alcoholic drink out there that you can buy contain sugars, calories and other things that might not be instantly obvious on the label. It is not that these things are being actively hidden away, but poor labelling does seem to come up from time to time on alcoholic drinks.

With the increase in popularity of prosecco, it comes as no surprise that more and more people want to know about what it contains. Especially those who are calorie counting, as alcoholic drinks are well-known for being full of what are known as empty calories. These are calories that count towards your overall daily total but provide no benefit that your body needs nutritionally.

So, with this in mind, we wanted to take the time to look a little closer at prosecco and see if we can learn what it contains in every single glass.

The calorie content in prosecco

When it comes to high-calorie content, it is often the case that alcoholic drinks come out on top. However, compared to others, prosecco is relatively low level.

If you take a traditional glass of regular prosecco, then you will expect to see 80 calories in that glass. Of course, if you have a healthy lifestyle and can stay fit and active, then there is a good chance that this won’t matter to you. Likewise, if you don’t drink prosecco regularly and only have one or two glasses as a treat, then you won’t need to worry too much about having a glass or two.

That said, if you drink prosecco regularly or are trying to monitor your diet, you may find that the prosecco you are drinking is going to cause an increase in your weight. The good news if you have a low-calorie diet that you can still enjoy prosecco when you want. You may just need to consider if you wish to lower the amount you drink (therefore reducing your calorie intake) or, if you prefer, you could always buy a low-calorie version.

It is worthwhile noting that many reduced-calorie prosecco’s will still have a relatively high level due to the nature of the drink. You will often see low-calorie options with a total of 60 calories per glass, which may not seem like that much of a reduction.

How much sugar is in prosecco?

Whilst it is easy enough to get caught up in the calorie content of prosecco and not give too much thought to what else it may contain. One commonly found an ingredient that needs to be taken into account is sugar.

Sugar may not seem as harmful as calories, but it can be detrimental to your health. In the short term, a high level of sugar intake will leave you feeling what is commonly referred to as a “sugar crash” or a “sugar hangover”. You will not only find the next day somewhat of a struggle but there is also a good chance that your body will want to eat as many carbohydrates as possible.

This only really relates to when you consume sugar that you are aware of. However, what if you don’t know your diet contains sugar? Hidden sugar will take its toll over time, which means that you can find you have more severe issues and illnesses that are harder to rectify.

It is essential to check your sugar intake and keep an eye on what you are eating and drinking, seeing how much sugar it contains. Particularly things such as alcohol.

The sugar content depends on the type of alcoholic drink and what you want to mix it with. Some examples of this include:

  • Standard gin and tonic, which has 18g of sugar
  • A vodka and cranberry juice which has 30g of sugar
  • Rum and coke, which has 27.5g of sugar
  • A standard glass of dry white wine, which has 1.5g of sugar

Prosecco, in comparison to all of these, comes in at 0.63g of sugar per 100ml. Which, as you can see, is significantly lower.

What is the best glass to enjoy prosecco in?

So, now you know that there is nothing wrong with having a touch of prosecco now and then, you need to think about the type of glass that you might want to enjoy prosecco in. There are a variety of prosecco glasses that you can choose from to enjoy a fizzy beverage or two. You can also find beautiful personalised prosecco glasses which are great as a gift or unique collection.

The most common glass that people choose is a flute shape; this is because it is the normal way to drink champagne, which in turn means that it makes sense for prosecco to be served in the same glass. This glass shape is chosen because it will trap the bubbles in the drink rather than let them escape. Which, of course, is a good thing.

However, if you ask an expert on which glass is correct, they will be much more likely to tell you that you should have a more open drink for your prosecco, which means that the narrow flute is out.

Instead, it is recommended that you try a wine glass. Wine glasses are open, which means that you can smell all the great aromas that the prosecco offers, which really helps with tasting it. The other bonus is that the wine glass’s shape also helps trap bubbles in, which makes your prosecco a much more excellent experience to drink.

About the Author: Peter Key