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You can drink alcohol on keto, but the choice matters more than with almost any other food or drink. A glass of dry wine contains under half a gram of carbohydrate. A pint of cider contains around thirty. Both are alcohol, and the gap between them is enormous.
This guide sets out the carbohydrate content of every major drink category, explains why some are keto friendly and others are not, and names the specific keto alcohol options that fit inside a keto allowance.
Where alcohol fits on keto
A ketogenic diet restricts carbohydrate to a low daily total, commonly between 20g and 50g depending on the approach. That allowance is the whole game, and it is small enough that a single drink can take a meaningful share of it.
Whether keto is right for you is a question for your GP or a registered dietitian rather than a wine retailer, and if you want background on the diet itself the NHS is the sensible starting point. What we can tell you is exactly how much carbohydrate is in each type of drink, which is the part most retailers leave off the label.
Keto alcohol: carb counts at a glance
Why some drinks are keto friendly and others are not
Alcohol itself contains no carbohydrate. Every gram of carbohydrate in an alcoholic drink comes from sugar that was never fermented, or from something added afterwards.
In wine, it is residual grape sugar. Yeast converts grape sugar into alcohol, and whatever is left when fermentation stops is what you taste as sweetness and count as carbohydrate. A wine fermented fully dry contains almost none. A wine stopped early, or sweetened afterwards, contains considerably more.
In beer, it is unfermented grain sugar. Brewing converts malted barley starch into fermentable sugar, and yeast turns most of that into alcohol. Standard lagers stop with a fair amount left, which gives body and mouthfeel. Longer fermentation converts more of it, leaving less carbohydrate behind.
In spirits, there is nothing left at all. Distillation separates the alcohol from everything else, so neat gin, vodka, whisky and rum contain zero carbohydrate. The carbs come entirely from what you mix them with.
This is why a low carb beer and a standard lager can sit at the same strength and differ fivefold in carbohydrate. It is a production decision, not an ingredient one.
Keto wine: what works
Dry wine is the most straightforward keto option. A wine fermented fully dry contains 0g of sugar per serving, which means no carbohydrate at all beyond a trace, so it barely touches a keto allowance. Everything in our keto wine collection is made this way.
What to look for:
Dry styles. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay unoaked, Grenache, Shiraz, Merlot and most Italian and Spanish reds are typically made dry. Riesling, Moscato, White Zinfandel and most supermarket rosé are typically not.
Published figures. UK wine labelling does not require a nutritional breakdown, so most bottles tell you nothing. Retailers who publish sugar content per serving are giving you information the label is not obliged to provide.
Lower alcohol, if calories also matter. Carbohydrate and calories are different things, and keto counts the first. A dry wine at 14% has no more carbs than one at 11%, but it carries considerably more calories, because alcohol contributes around 7 calories per gram. Our guide to which type of wine has the lowest sugar content covers the styles in detail.
Keto friendly wines from our range
All confirmed at 0g sugar per 125ml, all full strength.
Keto sparkling wine and Prosecco
Sparkling wine is governed by sweetness classifications printed on every bottle, which makes it the easiest category to judge on keto. You can tell from the label alone whether a bottle fits.
Brut Nature contains 0 to 3g of sugar per litre, which works out at under half a gram per glass. Extra Brut is next, then Brut, which tops out around 1.5g per glass. Anything labelled Extra Dry, Dry or Demi-Sec climbs quickly, and the naming is deliberately confusing: Extra Dry is sweeter than Brut.
The TRACES Prosecco DOC Treviso sits at 78 kcal and 0g sugar per glass at 11% ABV. The keto wine collection filters for the driest styles. There is more on the classifications in our guide to how much sugar is in Prosecco.
Keto beer: the hardest category
Beer is the hardest category on keto, and most of it does not work. A standard 330ml lager carries 10 to 15g of carbohydrate, and a pint carries 15 to 20g. Two pints of ordinary lager can account for a full day's allowance on a strict keto plan.
Keto beers get round this through extended fermentation, converting more of the grain sugar into alcohol rather than leaving it in the finished beer. The result is a beer at normal strength with a fraction of the carbohydrate. Our keto beer range covers the options.
Worth knowing: keto beer and low alcohol beer are not the same thing. Low alcohol reduces the strength. Keto beer keeps the strength and reduces the carbohydrate, so you get the same beer at full strength rather than a weaker one.
Spirits and mixers on keto
Neat spirits contain no carbohydrate, so gin, vodka, whisky, rum, tequila and brandy are all keto friendly in themselves. The problem is almost never the spirit.
A standard tonic contains around 15g of sugar per 200ml, which turns a zero carb gin into a drink with more sugar than a glass of sweet wine. Cola, lemonade, fruit juice and pre-mixed cans are worse. Slimline tonic, soda water, sparkling water and fresh lime are the alternatives.
Pre-mixed cans deserve particular caution. Many carry 20 to 35g of carbohydrate per can, and the nutritional information is often on the back in small print.
What to avoid on keto
Drinking sensibly
Whatever you are drinking, and whatever you are counting, the NHS guidance is to keep to no more than 14 units a week, spread over three days or more. Drinkaware has a useful breakdown of units and calories by drink type. If you are following a specific eating plan for a medical reason, your GP or a registered dietitian is better placed to advise than we are.
Frequently asked questions
How many carbs are in a glass of keto wine?
A 125ml glass of fully dry wine contains under half a gram of carbohydrate. A 175ml glass of standard supermarket wine typically contains 2 to 5g, depending on how dry it is.
Which alcohol is best on keto?
Neat spirits, at zero carbs. Among drinks with flavour, a fully dry keto wine or a Brut Nature sparkling comes next, at under half a gram per glass.
Is red or white wine better on keto?
Neither, inherently. It depends entirely on how dry the wine is. A dry red and a dry white made to the same style will be broadly identical on carbs, so pick on taste.
Is Prosecco keto friendly?
Brut and Brut Nature styles are, at 0 to 1.5g per glass. Extra Dry and Demi-Sec are not, despite what the names suggest.
Can I drink beer on keto?
Standard beer, realistically not. A single pint can use a large share of a strict keto allowance. Keto beers made through extended fermentation are a different proposition, with some sitting under 1g per bottle.
Is alcohol-free keto friendly?
Often not, and sometimes the reverse. Removing alcohol removes body, and many producers add sugar to compensate, so alcohol-free versions can carry more carbohydrate than the drink they replace.
Shop the keto range
Every product lists its calorie count, sugar content and ABV, so you can check what fits your allowance rather than guessing from the label.
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