How Long Does Wine Stay in Your System?

Knowing the Length of Time Wine Takes to Metabolize in Your Body

Because wine isn’t a spirit, people sometimes think that drinking it is less likely to cause addiction and other negative effects related to alcohol. This is not the case.

Drinking too much can lead to serious problems in your life, regardless of what type of alcohol you consume, be it bourbon, Boone’s Farm, or top-shelf Beaujolais.

So, how long does wine stay in your system? What factors affect the metabolism of alcohol? On average, the body eliminates one standard drink per hour. But everyone is different, and multiple factors play a role in the equation.

We’re here to answer your questions, though we do suggest that worrying about how long wine will stay in your system might point to a larger issue. If you’re concerned about wine showing up on a drug test and haven’t been able to stop drinking long enough to pass it, for example, it could indicate an unhealthy alcohol dependence.

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How Long Does Wine Stay in Your System? Factors Affecting Alcohol Metabolism

Every person metabolizes alcohol differently. How long wine stays in your system can depend on a range of factors, including:

Genetic factors. Gene variants can affect alcohol metabolism.
The amount of alcohol consumed. The more you drink, the longer wine is likely to show up in alcohol detection tests.
Overall health. Some health conditions can make it harder for your body to process alcohol. This means you may get a positive test for longer.
Body weight. Smaller persons may drink the same amount of alcohol as a larger person, but their blood alcohol concentration can be higher due to body size.
The body metabolizes alcohol more slowly as we age. It may take longer for wine to leave your system if you are an older adult.
Food intake. Eating can increase alcohol elimination rates. While you can’t rely on eating to help you pass a drug test, many people find that they feel less drunk if they eat before or while drinking.
Many medications can alter the absorption and metabolism of alcohol.

Chronic or excessive drinking can mean that people have positive drug tests for longer than usual. The type of drug test you get will also affect how long wine shows up on a test.

What Tests are Used for Detecting Wine Consumption?

Image of blood test vial for Detecting Wine Consumption

Alcohol can be detected in your system using more than one type of drug test. The following types of tests can measure alcohol in the body.

Urine tests. Alcohol metabolites can be found in the urine for 12-130 hours.
Blood tests. A blood test can show alcohol for up to about 12 hours.
Breathalyzer (breath) tests. Typically, breath tests only show alcohol for up to 24 hours.
Saliva tests. A saliva test may detect alcohol for up to about 48 hours.
Hair tests. Hair tests can show alcohol for up to 90 days.

Different types of drug tests might be used for several reasons. A standard urine test is most commonly used in pre-employment screenings, but a hair test can be favorable if there’s a need to detect alcohol use over an extended period.

How the Body Processes Wine and Other Forms of Alcohol

When you consume alcohol by mouth, it enters your stomach. Some people have stomach enzymes, such as alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), that help prevent some of the alcohol from entering the blood.

This is an example of how your genetics influence alcohol metabolism. If you don’t have enough of these enzymes, your stomach sends the alcohol directly to your small intestine. Then, it hits your bloodstream and your brain. That’s when you start to feel alcohol’s effects.

After passing through the stomach, the small intestine, and the bloodstream, your liver begins the “cleanup” process. The liver removes about 90% of alcohol from your blood. The rest comes out through your skin, kidneys, and lungs.

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Wine and Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) measures the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream. As you likely know, alcohol content varies depending on the type of wine you’re drinking. Some types of wine have a higher alcohol content than others.

Additionally, many people don’t consider the size of their drink(s). For table wine, one standard drink is five fluid ounces. So, if you have a large glass of wine, it could actually count as two standard drinks. In turn, your BAC might be higher than you’d expect.

Understanding the standard drink can also help you identify whether you engage in excessive drinking. Heavy drinking refers to eight or more drinks per week for women and 15+ drinks per week for men.

Is Wine Good for Your Health?

Image of three different types of wine in three glasses on a table as the last glass in filled from a person pouring a bottle

It is a myth that wine is good for you. The perceived benefits of drinking wine are based on outdated theories, such as “the French Paradox.” We now know that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.

People who drink more, such as those with alcohol use disorder, face a more substantial risk of the health problems connected to alcohol misuse. This is true regardless of the type of alcohol one consumes.

How Does Wine Misuse Affect the Body?

A positive alcohol test isn’t the only possible risk of misusing alcohol. Drinking alcohol regularly, especially in large amounts, can cause problems such as:

An increased risk of developing some types of cancer. These include, but are not restricted to, breast, liver, colon, esophageal, and oral cancer.
Liver disease may come with early symptoms such as jaundice, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, and abdominal bloating.
New or worsened mental health concerns.
Weakened immune system functioning.
Digestive issues.
High blood pressure.
Heart disease.
Stroke.

Alcohol poisoning is another serious risk of drinking any type of alcohol. From 2020 to 2021, over 178,000 persons died from alcohol-related causes in the United States alone.

Choose Purpose For Proven Wine Treatment Programs

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Drinking is highly normalized in our society. For this reason, it can be difficult to identify this form of substance abuse at times. If you have or believe that you might have a problem with alcohol, it is essential to seek help.

Purpose Healing Center provides true medical detox, inpatient alcohol rehab, and outpatient treatment programs. This means you or your loved one can choose the program(s) that best suit their needs.

Call our confidential admissions line today to learn more about alcohol treatment options.

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FAQs About How Long Wine Stays in Your Body

Does wine stay in your system longer than alcohol?

Wine is an alcoholic drink. Wines are metabolized at the same rate per hour as other alcoholic beverages. A five-ounce glass of wine contains approximately the same amount of pure alcohol as a 12-ounce serving of beer or 1.5 ounces of a distilled spirit.

How long does it take to get wine out of your body?

Various factors affect how long it takes for wine to leave your body entirely. These include (but are not limited to) age, body composition, overall health, and how much wine you drink.

What blood alcohol content causes alcohol poisoning?

A blood alcohol content of .30-.40 is likely to cause alcohol poisoning. Having an increased tolerance to alcohol does not prevent alcohol poisoning.

How long will wine show up in a urine test?

There’s more than one type of urine test. Some urine tests (e.g., advanced urine tests) are more sensitive than others. Depending on the type of test and the total amount of alcohol consumed, wine can show up in urine for around 12 hours to five days after your last drink.