DrinkWell Laboratory Research: What's Really in Supermarket Wine

DrinkWell commissioned independent, UKAS-accredited laboratory testing on 24 of the most widely purchased supermarket wines. The findings were significant — and, as far as we know, unreported elsewhere in the UK wine industry.

The core finding: additives add up to 25% more calories

In a clean wine made without additives, the sugar figure and the total carbohydrate figure should be the same or near-identical. What our lab testing found was a consistent and significant gap between declared sugar content and total measured carbohydrate content across the most popular supermarket brands. This gap is attributable to non-sugar additives — legally permitted, completely safe, but never declared on the label. Their carbohydrate contribution can increase total calorie content by up to 25%.

Red wine findings

Product	ABV%	Calories per 125ml	Carbs per litre	Sugar per litre
Yellow Tail Jammy Red Roo	12.0%	114	54g	38g
Lindemans Bin 40 Merlot	14.0%	110	27g	9g
Hardys VR Shiraz	13.0%	102	22g	7g
Blossom Hill Reserve Merlot	13.0%	104	25g	3g

White wine findings

Product	ABV%	Calories per 125ml	Carbs per litre	Sugar per litre
Gallo Family Chardonnay	12.5%	98	18g	12g
Barefoot Pinot Grigio	12.0%	93	17g	9g
Echo Falls Pinot Grigio	13.0%	104	22g	5g
Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc	13.5%	101	13g	4g

Rosé wine findings

Product	ABV%	Calories per 125ml	Carbs per litre	Sugar per litre
Barefoot Pink Moscato	9.0%	101	73g	66g
Blossom Hill Crispy Fruity Rosé	11.5%	95	39g	34g
Echo Falls White Zinfandel Rosé	10.5%	94	42g	28g
Jacobs Creek Classic Shiraz Rosé	11.8%	96	17g	8g

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