Wine Alcohol Content

It is a well-known fact across the world that every single type of wine contains some amount of alcohol in it. The wine alcohol content will vary from wine to wine, and from maker to maker, and different kinds of wines will obviously contain differing amounts of alcohol in them. It has been scientifically claimed that a glass of wine each day is good for health, but more than this is harmful to the body, owing solely to the wine alcohol content.

The more wine alcohol content that is present in a particular type of wine, the more harmful it will be to the body if consumed in excess. The wine alcohol content is a number that is denoted as a percentage of the entire bottle, and it is required to be visibly listed on the bottle by law. For example, if the wine alcohol content in 100 ml bottle of wine is 15%, this means that 15 ml out of the 100 ml of the wine is alcohol.

Alcohol Content in Wine

The alcohol that is present in the wine is a very important ingredient for the final taste of the wine. Without the presence of this alcohol, the taste, the smell, and the texture of every wine would be extremely different. The traditional way of making wine requires some percentage of wine alcohol content in it. Without the alcohol, it just wouldn't be wine. No matter what the harmful effects of the alcohol may be, ask any connoisseur of wine and he will tell you that the presence of alcohol in the wine is absolutely imperative.

As mentioned before, the wine alcohol content has to be mentioned on the wine bottle by law. Failure to do so would invoke many fines and penalties. According to the United States law, there is also a 1.5% leeway allowed on the alcohol content mentioned on the bottle. What this means is that if the bottle claims alcoholic content of 10% abv (alcohol by volume), then the actual amount of alcohol in the wine may be 11.5% or 8.5%.

Wine Categories

Wines are basically categorized into three groups, table wine, sparkling wine, and fortified wine. The maximum alcohol content on each of these wines is already laid down by the Government, and the wine alcohol content cannot overshoot that limit. Given below are the permissible limits of wine alcohol content for these three different kinds of wines.

• Table wine: 8% - 14%
• Sparkling wine: 8% - 12%
• Fortified wine: 17% - 22%

The alcohol content in each of these wines determines what the taste of the wine would be like. Fortified wines have the highest wine alcohol content, and they are strengthened by the addition of further alcohol. Most dessert wines fall in this category. For table wines, the alcohol simply adds a sweetness to the drink, as the alcohol comes mainly from the fermentation process. The presence of alcohol in wine actually also adds a slightly bitter taste in the mouth, and some thickness to the wine, and this enhances the overall taste in the mouth.

Wine Alcohol Content List

Given here is a tabular description of the many wines that are available in the market, according to the amount of alcoholic content in them.

Very Low Wine Content: Under 12.5%
Rose wine: Portuguese roses, California white zinfandel
Sparkling wine: Italian prosecco, Italian asti
White wine: German riesling, Portuguese vinho verde, French vouvray and muscadet, Spanish txacolina

Moderately Low Wine Content: 12.5% - 13.5%
Rose wine: French roses, Spanish roses
Sparkling wine: French champagne, California sparkling wine, Spanish cava
White wine: Spanish albarino, French white burgundy, New York riesling, South African sauvignon blanc, New Zealand sauvignon blanc, Austrian gruner veltliner, Australian riesling, Italian pinot grigio, Oregon pinot gris, French alsace white, French loire and Bordeaux white
Red wine: Italian chianti, French Bordeaux, French beaujolais and burgundy, Spanish Rioja

High Wine Content: 13.5% - 14.5%
White wine: South African chenin blanc, Chilean chardonnay, California viognier, French sauternes, California chardonnay, Australian chardonnay, California pinot gris, California sauvignon blanc
Red wine: Australian shiraz, Argentine malbec, California cabernet sauvignon, French rhone red, California syrah, California pinot noir, Italian barolo, Chilean merlot

Very High Wine Content: Above 14.5%
White wine: Spanish sherry (fortified), French muscat de beaumes-de-venise (fortified), Portuguese madeira (fortified)
Red wine: Portuguese port (fortified), California zinfandel, California petite sirah, Italian amarone

You may come across many different kinds of beer with lower alcohol content than certain wines, but seem more potent than the wine. Despite the differences between wine alcohol content vs beer alcohol content, the purpose of the alcohol in each brew fulfills completely different purposes. While the alcohol acts as a culinary agent for wines, as far as beer is concerned it is more of an intoxicating beverage. To imagine wine without any alcohol content is a fairly impossible task, and to attempt to do so would be against the entire purpose of the spirit of wine.