I don’t know about you but I am confused about how many alcohol units are in what.
I think most of the problem stems from the generalisations of the terms ‘glass’ and ‘wine’. There doesn’t appear to be an emphasis on the different alcoholic content of drinks. For example, how many units are in a ‘standard’ glass of wine? How big is that glass? Is there the same amount of alcohol in every wine? These might sound like daft questions but they are very valid.
A short poll (amongst my alcohol swigging friends) suggests that most people don’t know for sure.
In the UK most pubs sell wine in 175 ml glasses as standard; they don’t or won’t offer the smaller 125 mls unless you ask for one. If that wine is white and has 13% alcohol, two glasses will mean you have consumed 4.6 units in one evening. If your generous host returns from the bar with a one large glass (250 ml – a third of a bottle by the way) of wine that is 14.5%, that one glass will contain around 3.5 units of alcohol. If you return the favour and buy him one too, you will have drunk 7 units by the end of evening.
There are several issues around drinking; the main ones are health and driving.
The website http://www.drinkaware.co.uk which supplied the excellent information in the tables, advises that for health reasons: Women drink no more than 2 – 3 units daily and Men 3 -4 units, daily.
However the driving issue is far more complicated. The UK website http://www.drinkdrivinglaw.co.uk/drink_driving_limit.htm can’t give exact amounts on which it is safe to drive. This is understandable as quote “The legal drink drive limit cannot be safely converted into a certain number of units, as it depends on a number of factors to include gender, body mass and how quickly your body absorbs alcohol into the blood stream.”
So where does that leave you and I?
The whole driving and drinking issue is very personal; it is up to the individual to understand the law and their own metabolism. It seems a lot simpler to not drink alcohol at all if you are going drive.
The tables below put together the info on the above mentioned site (thank you, Mrs Government) in a simple format. It is hoped that these will demystify some of the confusion around units and emphasise the fact that they are NOT the same for every wine. A simple tip when it comes to buying a glass of wine or beer at a bar, is to ask “what is the percentage of alcohol”.
You can then decide whether to have one or if you are in the party mood – a lot more. What is important is that you are informed. You might be drunk and informed but at least you will know why…………………….. Cheers!
125 mls Small Glass of Wine
| RED
Percentage alcohol |
RED
Equals number of units |
RED
Calories |
WHITE
Percentage alcohol |
WHITE
Equals number of units |
WHITE
Calories |
| 12% | 1.5 | 93 | |||
| 12.5% | 1.6 | 85 | |||
| 13% | 1.6 | 85 | 13% | 1.6 | 93 |
| 13.5% | 1.7 | 85 | 13.5% | 1.7 | 93 |
| 14% | 1.8 | 85 | 14% | 1.8 | 93 |
| 14.5 | 1.8 | 85 | 14.5% | 1.8 | 93 |
175 mls Standard ‘Pub’ Glass of Wine
| RED
Percentage alcohol |
RED
Equals number of units |
RED
Calories |
WHITE
Percentage alcohol |
WHITE
Equals number of units |
WHITE
Calories |
| 12% | 2.1 | 130 | |||
| 12.5% | 2.2 | 119 | |||
| 13% | 2.3 | 119 | 13% | 2.3 | 130 |
| 13.5% | 2.4 | 119 | 13.5% | 2.4 | 130 |
| 14% | 2.5 | 119 | 14% | 2.5 | 130 |
| 14.5% | 2.5 | 119 | 14.5% | 2.5 | 130 |
250 mls Large ‘Pub’ Glass of Wine
| RED
Percentage alcohol |
RED
Equals number of units |
RED
Calories |
WHITE
Percentage alcohol |
WHITE
Equals number of units |
WHITE
Calories |
| 12% | 3 | 185 | |||
| 12.5% | 3.1 | 170 | |||
| 13% | 3.3 | 170 | 13% | 3.3 | 185 |
| 13.5% | 3.4 | 170 | 13.5% | 3.4 | 185 |
| 14% | 3.5 | 170 | 14% | 3.5 | 185 |
| 14.5% | 3.6 | 170 | 14.5% | 3.6 | 185 |
Others
| BEER
Percentage alcohol |
BEER
Equals number of units |
BEER
Calories |
| 4.5% | 2.6 | 233 |
| 5% | 2.8 | 244 |
| Whiskey 40% | ||
| Quantity | Units | Calories |
| 25 mls | 1 | 56 |
| 35 mls | 1.4 | 78 |
| 50 mls | 2 | 111 |
| 70 mls | 2.8 | 158 |
| Gin
37.5% |
||
| Quantity | Units | Calories |
| 25 mls | 0.9 | 52 |
| 35 mls | 1.3 | 72 |
| 50 mls | 1.9 | 103 |
| 70 mls | 2.6 | 145 |
