Did you know that almost all wine has sugar in it? And that there’s more sugar in sparkling wine than in still?
It may be hard to believe but wine can have between 1-10 cubes of sugar per bottle!
Sugar is an essential ingredient for wine - without sweetness, wine would be too sharp and sugar brings out some of the other flavours.
Sugar occurs naturally in grapes - yeast eats the sugar which turns into alcohol during the fermentation process. However, some winemakers add a small amount of sugar (known as dosage) to the sparkling wine just before bottling. They do this to improve the taste and make the wine more desirable! After all, the human palate loves sugar and we mostly don’t like something too acidic or sharp.
So how much sugar is added to Prosecco?
Well, it can be anything between 1-10 cubes of sugar, which sounds like a lot. Most bottles of prosecco labelled ‘extra dry’ have up to 6 cubes of sugar per bottle. Brut has less - 4 cubes of sugar per bottle. Something called ‘extra dry’ makes us think there is less, but in this case, it’s the opposite, so don’t be fooled.
Brut is the ‘skinny’ prosecco and it’s the one to look for if you want less sugar. Less sugar means fewer calories and better for the blood. Personally, I prefer the taste of brut, slightly more refined. But have a try and let me know which prosecco you are buying and your favourites.
My Top Wine Facts:
‘Extra Dry’ Prosecco = up to 6 cubes of sugar per bottle
‘Brut’ Prosecco/Sparkling Wine = up to 4 cubes of sugar per bottle
Still Wine = 1-2 cubes of sugar per bottle
My 'brut' and 'extra dry' Prosecco recommendations under £10: