This is the THIRD post in a never-ending edition of purely informational articles about specific types of foods, products or drinks to consume on a keto diet (and whether they are OK in the context of a ketogenic diet). This series of articles is a must-read for any ambitious keto diet follower who wants to avoid common mistakes and achieve success with a keto diet. 

Today, you’re going to learn about wine on a ketogenic diet and whether drinking wine on this program is really a smart thing to do. Wine has been consumed by humans for thousands of years across different cultures and different continents. Everyone has probably heard about at least a few different health benefits of wine, haven’t they?

We’ve established that wine is generally OK. But is it still OK on a keto diet? Can you drink wine on keto? Will it help you achieve your goals or rather make it more difficult? Just like in the case of many other products, it depends on how much of it you consume, how you consume it and what type of wine you choose.

In this article you will learn all you need to know to be able to decide if you want to drink wine on a keto diet.  Let’s get started.

Nutrition Facts About Wine

Below you will find the most important information and nutrition facts about two main types of wine: dry and sweet. The table shows only the most relevant data and facts that are especially interesting and useful in the context of a keto diet..

In the case of wine it’s caloric and carb quantity that we are interested in the most.  We want to enjoy some wine, feel better, chill out but still stay in ketosis and don’t hinder our weight loss progress. The two tables below will let you compare these two types of wine and (hopefully) select a clear winner.

Nutrition Facts Of Dry Wine (White Or Red)

Nutrition Facts Of Sweet Wine (Red Or White)

Drinking wine on a keto diet is possible as long as you stick to the dry type.

I didn’t divide these tables further into white and red wine because their caloric and carb quantities are quite similar. The biggest difference is whether wine is sweet or dry and that’s what you should pay attention to.

Wine & Its Keto Compliance (8/10)

Here you will find information, necessary facts and essential tips on how keto compliant wine is.

As you probably know alcohol and its consumption on a ketogenic diet is quite a controversial topic. Some keto gurus will tell you to avoid drinking alcohol at all costs. Others will let you consume it in moderation or only consume certain types. I’ve experimented both with total alcohol abstinence and moderate consumption of selected types of alcohol on a keto diet and here are my thoughts I want to share with you. 

A few facts, “foods for thought” and pieces of advice in relation to wine and a keto diet:

• ZERO GLYCEMIC INDEX. The glycemic index (GI) of dry wine is close to 0 as there are almost no digestible carbs in it and most of its calories comes from alcohol. This means no impact on blood sugar (and thus insulin), which makes dry wine very keto-friendly.
• ONLY DRY WINE IS FINE. It’s hard to precisely calculate how many carbs (actually added sugar) there is in sweet wine as most sweet wine labels don’t tell you that. That’s why it’s best to only stick to dry wine.
• WINE AND KETOSIS. The moment you drink alcohol your liver ultimately prioritizes it and starts metabolizing it. That’s because alcohol is treated as toxin by our body. The active fat burning (using fat for fuel) will stop until your lives metabolizes all the alcohol. However, alcohol is not stored as glycogen so the moment its metabolism is over, you will be back in ketosis (assuming you didn’t binge on carbs under consumption).
• DRINK THE RIGHT AMOUNT. It’s vital that you don’t go totally overboard and drink, for example, two bottles at a time. This will surely kick you out of ketosis for longer than a few hours. My recommended amount is 2-3 glasses. It’s a good compromise between chilling out and getting back on track relatively quickly.
• EATING FAT AND DRINKING WINE. If you don’t want to stop or hinder fat loss (or gain fat), make sure not to drink and eat (especially fat) at same time. It’s best to eat your meal and after, say, 2-3 hours drink dry wine. Be careful because being under influence often leads to bad dietary choices and you may end up binging with carbs. That’s not what you want to be doing!

As you can see, dry wine is keto-friendly and you are OK to consume it on this eating program. Some studies even show that wine can help you burn more fat and speed up your weight loss progress.  What’s more, wine simply helps you chill out and still enjoy life.

BONUS TIP: If you don’t like the taste of dry wine, you can add Stevia (I recommend the one in the liquid form) or erythritol to it and it will taste like sweet wine. However, I can assure you that after a few weeks you will get used to the taste of dry wine and will actually start to like it.

Check the brilliant article about alcohol consumption on a keto diet and its possible effects on ketosis. 

Wine On A Ketogenic Diet & Health Impact (8/10)

Here you will find information and facts about how healthy wine is.

Wine has a lot of good health benefits you probably want to reap. As always the key is moderation and knowing when to stop before all the good turns into all the bad. Here is a bunch of interesting facts about wine and its health impact:

• NOT RICH IN NUTRIENTS. Wine is mainly a source of alcohol from which most of its carb content comes. Wine doesn’t contain many minerals or vitamins.
• PROMOTES LONGEVITY. Lots of studies show that people who moderately consume wine live longer.
• LOWERS CORTISOL. One or two glasses of wine will let you chill out, lower cortisol (the stress hormone) and let you fall asleep easily.
• PROTECTION AGAINST HEART DISEASE. It’s a known fact that red wine helps prevent heart disease and lowers blood pressure as long as it’s consumed in moderation.
• REDUCES INFLAMMATION. Resveratrol that’s in red wine turns out to have great properties such as reducing inflammation. However, you can also take Resveratrol as a supplement.
• POSITIVE EFFECTS END WITH OVER-CONSUMPTION. All of the great benefits of wine can be stopped (and replaced by many dangers) if it’s consumed excessively.
• RED IS HEALTHIER. Most studies agree that red wine has more health benefits in comparison to white wine (e.g. white wine doesn’t have resveratol).

Check out the following medical articles that talk about wine in the context of health at the website of the US National Library of Medicine: Red Wine: A Drink To Your Heart and Wine, Beer, Alcohol and Polyphenols on Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer.

Bottom Line: Dry Wine In Moderation 

I hope that by now you know whether drinking wine on a keto diet will be a good idea for you. As you can see,  alcohol isn’t absolutely forbidden on a ketogenic diet and it can even be helpful if you know how to consume it and consume only the right types. The key is to avoid alcohol that has added carbs (sugar) in it. 

Dry wine (both white and red) is totally OK while sweet and semi-sweet types of wine aren’t very keto friendly.

The bottom line is to choose the type that has the smallest amount of carbs, drink it in moderation (in the case of wine it’s 1-2 glasses) and don’t combine it with eating huge meals (especially rich in fat). It’s best to entirely separate drinking time from eating time.

If weight loss is your main goal, you should be especially careful with drinking alcohol and combining it with foods. However, if you closely watch your progress, get to know you body and make adjustments, you are going to be OK drinking wine on a keto diet.  I am!

If you find this mini guide helpful and useful, please share it with your friends on social media. My goal is to reach as many people as possible to help them make wise dietary choices and transform their lives. Thanks!