Is White Wine Acidic or Alkaline?
White wine (prepared) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
White wine comes to −1.0 per 100 ml and is just barely alkaline. That is weaker than red wine (−1.6), since less potassium gets into the must without contact with the skins. Dry sparkling wine is similar at −0.7, and a wine spritzer at −0.6. Alongside a cheese plate with Tilsit cheese (+17.3), a glass changes little in your balance, and the 64 kcal per 100 ml still count.
In the Drinks category, white wine (prepared) ranks #28 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Apple spritzer (−1.1), Coffee, instant (−1.2), Fruit spritzer (general) (−1.3). More acid-forming are Piña Colada (classic, no dairy) (−1.0), Wine, alcohol-free (−1.0), Apple juice drink (−0.7).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is white wine acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: White wine (prepared) has a PRAL of −1.0 per 100 ml, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much white wine do I need for a noticeable effect?
A glass (200 ml) of white wine adds −2.1 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of white wine roughly offsets one of them.
Why is white wine alkaline even though it is not a typical alkaline food?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. White wine provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−1.0).
White Wine logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
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Compare all Drinks: Drinks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.