FoodCanEat › Home › Wine and Spirits

Last reviewed: 2026-09-03 • Editorial Standards

Wine and Spirits Ranked by Purine Content

Evidence-based comparison — data from USDA+ODS-NIH PURINE DATABASE Release 2 (March 2025)

Lowest Purine Wine and Spirits

#1shochu (japanese spirit liquor)0.0 mg
#2ume liqueur0.2 mg
#3whiskey0.2 mg
#4brandy0.4 mg
#5mirin (cooking wine)1.2 mg
#6wine1.2 mg
#7sake1.4 mg
#8amazake (fermented drink made from sake lees)6.2 mg
#9shoko-shu (chinese liquor)9.7 mg

Highest Purine Wine and Spirits

#9shochu (japanese spirit liquor)0.0 mg
#8whiskey0.2 mg
#7ume liqueur0.2 mg
#6brandy0.4 mg
#5wine1.2 mg
#4mirin (cooking wine)1.2 mg
#3sake1.4 mg
#2amazake (fermented drink made from sake lees)6.2 mg
#1shoko-shu (chinese liquor)9.7 mg

Category Average: 2.3 mg/100g

The average across 9 Wine and Spirits foods with lab-measured data. Foods below this average are better-than-typical choices within this category.

How to Use This Ranking

The purine ranking is sorted from lowest to highest. Rank #1 is the lowest-purine food in the category. Foods in the top half (above median) should be consumed with more awareness of portion and frequency. The difference between adjacent ranks varies: in some categories, rank #5 and #10 might be only 10 mg apart; in others, the gap can be 100+ mg. Always check the actual milligram value, not just the position. Rankings do not account for fructose or alcohol — use individual food pages for a complete risk assessment.

ACR 2020 Guideline Context

The American College of Rheumatology recommends that gout patients focus on purine awareness rather than complete food group elimination. Within any category, there is a wide purine range. The goal is to shift toward lower-purine choices within categories you already eat, rather than eliminating entire food groups. This ranking helps you identify which specific items to prioritize and which to limit.

Japanese guidelines recommend under 400 mg of total dietary purines per day. Using this ranking, you can estimate how much of budget each food uses per typical serving.

How This Comparison Is Built

Each item here is scored by a three-factor risk engine covering purines, fructose, and alcohol. Purine values draw on the USDA+ODS-NIH PURINE DATABASE Release 2 (March 2025) and Kaneko et al. (Biol Pharm Bull 37(5):709-721, 2014, PMID: 24553148); fructose comes from USDA SR28 tables. Classification uses ACR 2020 thresholds — Safe under 50 mg purine and 2 g fructose with no alcohol, Moderate in between, Avoid above, or when alcohol is present. Each food page labels its data quality as T1 (lab-measured), T2 (measured plus consensus), or T3 (category estimate).

This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Individual tolerance to purines and fructose varies. Consult a healthcare professional for personalized dietary guidance. Last reviewed: 2026-09-03.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is wine bad for gout?
Wine is nearly purine-free — in our database, wine lists about 0.0 mg/100g, essentially negligible. The gout risk from wine comes from the alcohol itself, which raises uric acid through several mechanisms, not from purines. Research suggests wine is less strongly associated with gout than beer, but moderation still applies.
Is whiskey high in purines?
No. Distilled spirits like whiskey list about 0.0 mg/100g in our database — essentially purine-free, because the distillation process removes purines. The gout risk from spirits is the alcohol, which raises uric acid, not the purine content. Beer is the alcohol that adds a purine load on top of the alcohol.
Which alcohol is lowest in purines?
Distilled spirits (whiskey, vodka, gin, shochu) and wine are all nearly purine-free, typically under 1-2 mg/100g, because distillation removes purines. Beer is the outlier — it retains purines from the malt and yeast. But for gout, the alcohol content itself is the bigger driver than purines, so 'low purine' does not mean 'safe'.
About · Contact · Privacy · Terms of Use · Medical Disclaimer · Editorial Policy · Data Sources

References

• ACR 2020 Guideline for the Management of Gout
• USDA+ODS-NIH PURINE DATABASE Release 2, March 2025
• Kaneko K, et al. Biol Pharm Bull 37(5):709-721, 2014. PMID: 24553148

Medical Disclaimer: This website provides informational content only and does not constitute medical advice.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-03