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Understanding sweetness in wine
While many people like dry wines, sweet wines can have an incredible depth and complexity of flavour that makes them a good addition to any collection.But what makes wine sweet? Why are some wines sweeter than others? And what foods go best with sweet wines? Here’s what you need to know.
What makes wine sweet?
Wine sweetness comes mainly from the leftover sugar from the grapes after fermentation.
During fermentation, the added yeast eats the natural sugars in the grape juice, converting them into alcohol.
By stopping this process early, winemakers can control how sweet a wine will be. They might cool the wine down or add grape spirit (a process called fortification) to kill the yeast and stop fermentation.
As a result, dry wines have almost no sugar left, while sweet wines have varying amounts of sugar left in the finished wine. A good example of this is the classic dessert wine, Sauternes.
How is sweetness in wine created?
Any grape variety can be used to make sweet wine, as sweetness largely depends on the winemaking process. However, some grapes such as Sémillon, Chenin Blanc and Muscat are often used for sweet wine.
Here are the main ways winemakers create sweetness:
Fortification – Adding spirits like brandy stops fermentation by killing the yeast, leaving natural sugar in the wine.
Late harvest – Leaving grapes on the vine longer than normal allows them to over-ripen with more sugar content.
Noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) – This helpful fungus dehydrates grapes on the vine by causing them to shrivel, concentrating sugars and developing distinctive honey and dried fruit flavours.
Ice wine (Eiswein) – Grapes are left on the vine until they freeze in winter and are then pressed while still frozen, producing a juice that is intensely sweet and concentrated.
Passito method (straw wine) – After being harvested, grapes are dried on straw mats, racks or in temperature-controlled rooms, which helps concentrate their sugars.
Understanding wine – the sweetness scale
Here’s a brief rundown of the typical sweetness levels of different wine varieties.
Red Wines
Dry:
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Shiraz/Syrah (Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale)
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Zinfandel
Off-dry to Medium:
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Beaujolais
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Some styles of Lambrusco
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Dornfelder
Sweet:
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Port
-
Recioto della Valpolicella
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Sweet styles of Lambrusco
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Rutherglen Muscat
Rosé Wines
Dry:
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Provence rosés
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Sangiovese rosé
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Spanish Rosado
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Bandol rosé
Off-dry to Medium:
-
Californian White Zinfandel (Primitivo)
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Some styles of Rosé d’Anjou
Sweet:
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Pink Moscato
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Banyuls rosé
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Lambrusco Rosato
Pairing sweet wines with food
Sweet wines offer incredible versatility when it comes to food pairings, thanks to their natural sweetness that can balance various flavours.
Here are some tips on pairing sweet wines:
Spicy flavours – Sweet wines such as Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Moscato are perfect for countering the heat in spicy dishes. Try them with spicy Asian cuisine like noodles or curries.
Rich and savoury foods – Sweet wines’ high acidity can cut through the richness of savoury foods, refreshing your palate between bites. Sauternes, for instance, is a classic match with foie gras due to its ability to balance richness.
Salty cheeses –A classic sweet/salty pairing is Sauternes or Port with salty blue cheeses like Stilton or Gorgonzola.
Charcuterie boards – Sweet wines balance the fat in cured meats and pâté and go well with fruit chutneys.
Sweet sauces – Dishes with sweet elements, such as glazes or sauces, pair beautifully with sweet wines. Try a late-harvest Riesling with glazed ham.
Desserts – Sweet wines naturally complement desserts. Just make sure the wine is as sweet as or sweeter than your dessert. Chocolate desserts pair well with a sweet, fortified wine like Port, while fruit desserts match nicely with late-harvest wines or ice wine.
How do I choose the right sweet wine?
If you want to try sweet wines, start with options such as Sauternes, late-harvest Riesling and Moscato.
Not all wines are marked as sweet on their label, but you can look for the following terms used by winemakers to help you find sweet wines:
Doux (French) – Sweet
Demi-Sec (French) – Semi-sweet, often found on the labels of sparkling wines like Champagne.
Spätlese (German) or Vendange Tardive (French) – Late harvest wine.
However, our favourite way to find your perfect sweet wine is to try a variety to see which ones suit your tastes – enjoy!
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