Units and calories in Champagne

A glass of champagne might have more alcohol and calories in it than you would expect.

A typical-strength 125ml glass of champagne has around 1.5 units of alcohol.¹ So, over a week, drinking more than a bottle and a half of champagne would put you above the UK Chief Medical Officers' (CMO) low risk drinking guidelines, of drinking no more than 14 units a week.

Cutting back will lower your risk of serious diseases such as several types of cancer, heart disease, liver disease and stroke and is likely to improve your overall physical and mental health.

Find out how many units and calories are in your drinks

Cutting down on how much you drink can benefit your waistline too. Alcohol contains almost as many calories as pure fat (around seven calories a gram).²

How much alcohol is in champagne?

It’s easy to see how much alcohol is in any champagne - just check the label for the Alcohol by Volume (ABV) or ask at the bar.

The ABV tells you what percentage of the champagne is alcohol. The higher the ABV, the more alcohol is in the drink and the stronger it is - for example, a 12% ABV champagne contains 12% pure alcohol.

The amount of alcohol in champagne can vary. But champagne’s typical strength means drinking more than four glasses for a woman or six glasses for a man could be classed as ‘binge drinking’ (more than six units of alcohol for a woman, or eight for a man).³

What is a unit of alcohol?

Research shows that binge drinking (between 5-7 units) over a three-to-six-hour period increases your short-term risk of accidents and injuries by two to five times.⁴

Find out how much you are drinking with our Drinking Check self-assessment

How many calories are in champagne?

All alcohol, including the alcohol in champagne, is made from natural starch and sugar. That means a couple of typical 125ml glasses has the same number of calories as half a cheeseburger.⁵ 

What’s more, because calories from alcohol are 'empty calories', meaning they have no nutritional value, they don’t benefit our bodies in any way.⁶ 

An easy way to cut your calorie intake from champagne is to choose a non-alcoholic alternative, a lower strength sparkling wine or, if you’re having more than one glass, alternating between champagne and water.

Cutting down on alcohol could help you get a slimmer waist, a sound night’s sleep, brighter skin and more time and energy. Find out more.

How champagne compares to other drinks

The strength of champagne is usually around 12%, which means that it contains 12% pure alcohol. That’s around the same amount of alcohol typically found in other sparkling wines, like prosecco or cava. The strength of these drinks can vary though – the best way to check is to look at the label, which will display the ‘alcohol by volume’ (or ABV).

Choosing a lower strength drink as a replacement to a full-strength one can be a great way to cut out unnecessary alcohol and calories. And there are more ‘reduced alcohol’ sparkling wines available than ever before, in supermarkets and pubs. A ‘reduced alcohol’ sparkling wine, like Moscato d'Asti, could be around 5.5% ABV– so would cut your alcohol consumption in half compared to an equivalent size glass of full-strength champagne.

Even better for reducing your alcohol intake would be a ‘low alcohol’ wine. These aren’t allowed to be more than 1.2% ABV,⁷ and many are around 0.5% ABV.

Alcohol and calories