I am a wine drinker, and there are so many wines I’ve drunk in the past that I love. Wine is an alcoholic beverage that is made from fermented grapes. During the fermentation process of wine, the yeast eats up the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol, carbon dioxide, and heat. The reason for the different styles of wine is the various varieties of grapes and strains.
I drink different types of wines for various purposes. I have wines that I drink if I want to get drunk quickly, and I have some that I drink when I don’t want to get drunk. Of all the wines I drink, red wines get me drunk the fastest. In general, red wine is more likely on the average to be higher in alcohol content than a white wine.
Wines produced from grapes
To get the real color and style of the wine, the kind of grape used and the quantity of skin contact while the juice is being extracted have a significant role to play in it. I used to think that the color of a wine is connected to how sweet it is, but it is not. There is no connection between the color of wine and its sweetness.
Different types of wines
Red wine
Red wine is loved by so many people around the world, and I am one of them. There is this refreshing feeling I get each time I drink it. Red wine is a kind of wine that is produced from dark-colored grape varieties. The color and flavor of red wine is gotten from grape skin, and it involves. The color of red wines varies–most young wines have an intense Violet color, mature wines have a brick red color, while the older wine has a brown color. Red grapes usually give out a greenish-white juice when it is extracted. The red color is obtained from the anthocyanins found in the skin of the grape. Some examples of red grape varieties are Cinsaut, Malbec, Douce Noir, Gamay, Grenache, Alicante, Henri Bouschet, Barbera, Bobal, Cabernet, Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Isabella, Merlot, Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Montepulciano, Mourvèdre, Pinot noir, Sangiovese, and Syrah.
White wine
White wine is one of the many types of wines that have been existing for over three thousand years. It is one wine that is fermented without skin contact. The color of white wine is not necessarily white; it could be yellow-gold, or straw-yellow, or yellow-green. White wines are produced with the non-colored pulp of grapes that can have any color of skin. There are also white wines that are made with colored skin grapes. Dry white wine is more famous than other types of white wines–it is produced from the complete fermentation of wort, and it could be more or less aromatic. I drink white wine sometimes because it has less sugar in it.
Rosé wine
Many people mistake rosé wine for red wine. But they are two different wines. However, rosé wine gets its color from red grape skins. Rosé wine is the oldest type of wine, and winemakers use the skin contact method to produce it. The color of Rosé wine varies–it ranges from a pale orange color to a vivid near-purple color; the color is based on the varietals used while making it. Rosé wines are extracted from a wide variety of grapes all over the world. Rosé wines have different sweetness levels ranging from dry Provençal rosé to sweet blushes to White Zinfandels.
To produce rosé wine, there are three ways you can do it:
- Skin contact: This involves giving dark grape skins to stain the wort.
- Saignée: This has to do with removing juice from the must during the early stage of fermentation and completing the fermentation process of the juice separately.
- Blending of red and white wine: This method is not allowed in many wine-growing regions.
Orange wine
Orange wines are produced with white grapes that are allowed to soak when they are pressed. The process of making orange wine is quite similar to that of red and rosé wine. Orange wines are mostly dry and tannic, and they are sometimes referred to as amber wines,
Sparkling wine
This is a bubbly wine that can either be made in orange or red or rosé or white wine style. Sparkling wines usually go through a secondary fermentation because that is what gives it its bubbles. If you produce sparkling wines, it will be good to put them in thick bottles that can withstand the pressure of the gas behind the cork.
Dessert wine
Dessert wines are some of the sweetest wines you can taste. The first time I tasted it, I enjoyed it. Even after fermentation, dessert wines still have a large amount of sugar in them. Some examples of dessert wines are Sauternes, Icewine, Port, Tokaji Aszú, Trockenbeerenauslese, and Vin Santo.
Fruit wine
Wines are also produced from different fruits, and apple is one of them. Most times, the wines are named after the fruits that are used in creating them. Some homebrewers don’t use these fruits to make wine because they don’t have enough fermentable sugars in them, they lack enough acidity, or they don’t have plenty of yeasts that aid fermentation. It is always better to use grapes for your fruit wine.
Mead (honey wine)
This is one of my favorite wines. It is also referred to as honey wine. I love the delicious taste that mead has. And the fact that honey is the primary ingredient used in producing it gives me more reasons why I love it. Mead is made by fermenting honey with water, some fruits, spices, grains, or hops.
Does red wine get you drunk quicker than white wine?
Red wine gets me drunk quicker than white wine. So, I drink red wine most times when I want to just easily get drunk and sleep. The truth is that most red wines have a higher alcohol content than white wines.
Most times, the alcohol content of any wine is based on the amount of sugar in the grapes and also in the grape juice that are used to produce the wine, and also the quantity of sugar that was converted to alcohol while fermentation took place. Usually, red wines are fermented to “dryness,” which means almost all or all the sugar in it was converted to alcohol.
So, that means that the higher sugar level in it makes it have higher alcohol content in it. But white wines can either be semi-dry, sweet, or vinted-dry, and the alcohol content in white wines gets lesser as the amount of sugar remaining increases. That means most sweet white wines have lower alcohol content.
One other thing about white wine is that most of them come from regions with shorter growing seasons, resulting in the grapes having fewer sugars.
Because most red wines have high alcohol content, they can get you drunk faster than white wines.
Plus, the color of wine has nothing to do with it getting you quickly drunk. Whichever wine you prefer drinking, always make sure you drink it responsibly and avoid driving when you are drunk. Whenever I want to get drunk, I don’t go out. This saves me a lot of trouble.
The top wines that get me drunk fast
The Alcohol By Volume (ABV) in wines can be from 5% to 25% ABV. The style of wine, the climate condition of where the grapes were grown, and the quality level are some of the factors that affect the alcohol content of wine.
Check out a list of the top wines that get me drunk fast.
| Name of wine | Alcohol By Volume (ABV) | Where it is produced |
| Shiraz | 15.5% | Australia |
| Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre | 15.5% | California and Australia |
| Zinfandel | 16% | California |
| Late Harvest Dessert wine | 15 to 17% | |
| Sherry | 15 to 20% | Spain |
| Port and Tawny Port | 20% | Portugal |
| Banyuls and Maury | 20% | France |
| Madeira | 20% | Portugal |
| Marsala | 20% | Sicily |
| Aromatized Wine | 20% | Vermouth |
All the wines I listed above can be classified as wines with high alcohol content. Their ABV ranges from 15% to 25%. They can either be made naturally or by a process called fortification.
How are fortified wines made? A neutral spirit which is usually a distilled grape brandy, is poured into wine to increase its alcohol content. Most homebrewers fortify their wines so that they can maintain the flavor of the wine when the time of exploration reaches. Finding a naturally high alcohol wine is quite difficult, but it can be produced with the help of science. Aromatized wines (vermouth), Port, Marsala, Madeira, and Sherry are examples of some fortified wines.
Wines with low alcohol content
This wine has an ABV of 10% or lower. The wines that belong here are usually sweet and have a light body. These types of wines are sweet because of the remaining sugar in the wine that is left after the required alcohol level has been attained.
Some typical examples of wines with low alcohol content are:
- Spätlese Riesling 8.5% ABV (it is a German Riesling),
- Muscadet 9.5% ABV ( from France),
- Kabinett Riesling 8% ABV (another great German Riesling),
- Moscato d’Asti 5.5% ABV (very sweet white from Italy),
- Brachetto d’Acqui 6.5% ABV (lightly sparkling sweet red from Italy), and
- Alsace Blanc 9%–10% ABV (also from France).
Wines medium low alcohol content
For wines with medium-low alcohol content, they have an Alcohol By Volume that ranges between 10 to about 11.5%. Grapes that are not very sweet are used for making this kind of wine. Some white wines fall into this category. Grapes that are grown in places with cool climate such as Germany, France, and Northern Italy are used for making medium-low alcohol wines.
A few sparkling wines also belong to medium-low alcohol wines. Some famous examples of medium-low alcohol wines are:
- Soave (from Italy),
- Gavi (can be found Italy),
- Pinot Grigio (Italy),
- Grüner Veltliner (Austria),
- Touraine, and Cheverny (Sauvignon Blanc from Loire, France),
- Lambrusco (also from Italy), and
- Muscadet (from France).
Wines with medium alcohol content
The ABV of wines with medium alcohol content ranges from 11.5% to 13.5%. Wines like this in the United States have a lower ABV than 11.5%, but in other parts of the globe, it could even be higher than 13.5%. But many European wines maintain this range.
- Chianti (Italy),
- Dolcetto (Italy),
- Barbera (Italy),
- Nebbiolo (Italy),
- Bordeaux (Cabernet-Merlot blend from France),
- Bou(Bourgogne (Pinot Noir or Chardonnay from France),
- Champagne (France),
- Côte du Rhône (France),
- Beaujolais (France),
- Rosé Wine,
- Sauvignon Blanc (California),
- Value Reds (California),
- Red Wines (Chile),
- Riesling (Washington),
- Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir (Oregon)
A wine will taste richer and bolder if its alcohol content is high.
Wines with medium high alcohol content
The ABV of wines with medium high alcohol content ks between 13.5% to 15%. You will find this kind of wine in places like Spain, Southern Italy, and Australia, Spain. One thing you must know is that many places that have warm climates have very sweet grapes, and that means the wines that are made from those sweet grapes will have high alcohol content.
Some examples of these types of wines are:
- Zinfandel ( from California),
- Viognier (also from California),
- Grenache or Garnacha (from Spain and Australia),
- Pinotage (produced in South Africa),
- Amarone Della,
- Valpolicella ( produced from Italy),
- Brunello di Montalcino (Italy),
- Nero d’Avola (Italy),
- Barolo (Italy),
- Châteauneuf-du-Pape (from France),
- Chardonnay (from California and Washington),
- Petite Sirah (also from California),
- Pinot Noir (from California),
- Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (produced in California and Washington), and
- Malbec (Argentina).
Conclusion
I love red wine, and they quickly get me drunk. Most red wines have higher alcohol content in them than white wines. It is so because of the high sugar level that remains even after fermentation is over.
Grapes are the primary ingredients that are used in producing notable wines. There are different kinds of wines. Some of them are red wines, white wines, rosé wines, sparkling wines, dessert wines, and many more wines.
The Alcohol By Volume (ABV) of wines varies. The higher the ABV content of wines, the easier it will get you drunk.
It will help if you drink responsibly. Avoid driving after getting drunk, so you don’t end your life or get into trouble with the law.