How Much Sugar is in Your Glass of Bubbly?

Curious about just how much sugar is in your glass? That depends on how sweet you like your sparkling wine, but probably less than you think.

You might be happy to hear that Champagne and sparkling wine contains less calories than red and white wine. Red wine contains around 100 kcal per glass, and bubbly only 80 kcal. The most common dry sparkling wine styles usually only contain half a teaspoon of sugar per glass.

Sugar is added to sparkling wine to balance out the bitterness and give it a more rounded flavour. Different styles are made to suit different tastes.

Check out the styles which refer to their sugar ‘dosage’ below, going from no sugar to the highest amount of sugar.

Brut Zero / Brut Nature, no added sugar: This type of sparkling wine usually contains almost no added sugar, only the natural sweetness of the wine.

Extra Brut, 0-6 g/l: A bit sweeter than the nature, a glass contains less than a gram of sugar or a quarter teaspoon. Not much!

Brut, 0-12 g/l: A flute of typical Champagne or sparkling wine of a Brut variety (dry), which is the most commonly drunk, contains less than 2 grams of sugar. That is around half a teaspoon of sugar for a glass. A popular pairing for food.

Extra-Dry, 12-17 g/l: Despite the name, extra-dry sparkling wines are sweeter than brut and can contain up to three-quarters of a teaspoon. The slight extra sweetness makes it great as an apéritif.

Dry, 17-32 g/l: Going towards the sweeter end of Champagne and sparkling wine styles, this medium-sweet variety has up a teaspoon of added sugar.

Demi-Sec, 32-50 g/l: A popular choice amongst sweet-toothed bubbly drinkers, the demi-sec contains around 1-2 teaspoons of sugar per glass. Often enjoyed with desserts.

Doux, 50+ g/l: Finally the sweetest of the wines, literally named ‘soft’. It contains over 2 teaspoons of sugar in a glass.

Champagne and sparkling wine is a great choice thanks to its quality and wide style selection – not to mention one glass may have less sugar than your usual cup of tea!