Sweet wines are divine! There are so many types that are available as well. Bubbles, still, fortified, white, red and pink. Some people call them dessert wines. Some call them pudding wines. Others call them stellar wines that the world needs more of.

Interestingly, some of the oldest styles of wines were sweeter in style than the wines we have today. With the development of better techniques and technology, wines are now able to ferment more reliably to bone dry.  

But, choice is great and sweet wines are superb if you know what to look for. 

If you just want to know how best to serve your sweet wines, please read 'Those sweet wines... how best to enjoy them'.

Before we start to delve into the wonders of sweet wines, it is important to clear some confusion. That is that ‘sweet wines’ are often confused with those that are ‘intensely fruity’ that are not sweet at all. These wines merely taste sweet. Or sweetly ripe. 

Of course, the words to describe how sweet a wine is differs between countries. However, most countries from Hungary to Greece. And Portugal to Germany have a rich history in producing sweet wines. Here are some of the names for the levels of sweetness that you will see on wine labels.

So… what is ‘sweet’? …

The sweetness in wine relates to the sugar level that remains in the wine after it goes into the bottle. This is known as the residual sugar. 

This sugar is the result of either:

• The wine not fermenting to fully dry or being deliberately stopped.
• Sweet grape product (or sometimes sugar) being added to a wine that has finished fermenting.

Different degrees of sweet

It goes without saying that each wine will have a different level of sweetness to another. In the EU, there are definitions to the words that describe the levels of sweet wine.  What word appears on the label will technically also depend on the acid level of a wine for some levels of sweetness too. Eg. For the terms ‘dry’ and ‘medium dry’.

Generally though, the term ‘medium’ or ‘medium sweet’ refers to wines that have between 18 g/L - 45 g/L of residual sugar. And ‘sweet’ refers to wines that contain more than 45 g/L of residual sugar. 

Interestingly, Hungary has a sweetness scale for their Tokaji Aszu wines. These wines may feature the number of ‘puttonyos’ on their label. Puttonyo was the traditional basket used to carry grapes from vineyard to winery. The pickers would harvest baskets of botrytis effected grapes separate to the rest of the harvest.  Historically, this measure was the number of baskets of these grapes added to each barrel. Although, since 2013 all Aszu wines have to have a minimum of 120 g/L of residual sugar. Therefore only 5 & 6 Puttonyos will appear on a wine at the ‘Aszu’ level.

How to make a sweet wine?

Concentrating sugar in grapes

For most sweet wines, the first step of the winemaking process is to have very sweet grapes. There are several ways to get extra sugar concentration in grapes that make them ideal for making sweet wines. These range from simply leaving them on the vine to harvesting the bunches and letting them dry in the sun. Interestingly, some of the methods are not just for sweet wines.  They are also used to get higher alcohol and body in red wines too.

Letting them hang…

The first method is to leave the grape on the vine to build sugar concentration in the grapes. As the season progresses, the vines stop feeding the grapes with water and prepare for dormancy. They have, after all, produced their ripe grapes for this season. 

With less water and nutrition, the grape still is producing sugars. Then, over time the grape loses water through its skin too. The grapes may even shrivel on the vine. These berries have an abundance of sugar. They are very ripe indeed.

Sweet wines using this method will use the term ‘late harvest’

A version of this is also to cut the cordon or cane. This is the part of the vine that might support several bunches. This means the bunches on this cane cannot access water and then start to shrivel with water loss. It is this water loss that concentrates the amount of sugar in those grapes.

Sweet wines using this method will use either ‘cordon cut’ or ‘cane cut’.

Leaving them high and dry….

A version of this is to dry the grape bunches after harvest on racks or mats. This can be done either in the sun or in a warm shed. Sometimes you will see the term ‘stroh wine’ which indicates this method. This method is also in use for red wines such as the famous Amarone wines of Italy.

When the harvest is too late…. It is chilling….

One of the most sublime styles of sweet wines are the Ice Wines. Or Eiswein. Here the wine grower takes a risk and waits for the first frosts to come. This is becoming riskier with warmer conditions. Here the water in the grapes will freeze. 

Then the grower will harvest these frozen gems and immediately put them through the wine press. This separates the sugar and acids, which have not frozen, from the frozen water. What is then ready to ferment, is a very sweet must that retains its freshness. It may be a little fuller in body, slightly more viscous, but ultimately will taste very fruity and often floral.

These are a speciality of Austria, Germany and now, Canada. 

Then there is the noble rot …

Here I refer to Botrytis cinerea. The ‘noble’ rot. Botrytis cineria or Noble Rot is part of the Botryotinia genus. And without this particular mould these wines would not have their characteristic marmalade twist, nor their viscosity. The Botrytis cineria increases tartaric acid as well as sugar ratio in the grapes and stimulates the production of glycerol. 

It is that glycerol that gives these wines their texture. It also gives the wine added flavours and aromas to give added complexity. Notably the aroma and flavour of Marmalade.

This is a fungal infection that can attack any coloured grape. As long as the conditions are right. This takes a vineyard to be in a very humid position. Preferrably, this occurs in Autumn when the grapes are ripe or very nearly ripe. 

This mould will colonise the grape bunch and digs into the berry to feed on the water inside. By doing this, it removes the water from the grape and leaves the sugar and acid. It doesn’t want these compounds in the grape. Semillon, Pinot Gris and Riesling are grapes that are particularly susceptible to Botrytis cinerea ‘attacks’.

Sometimes these wines are hard to find however as they may not mention ‘botrytis’ on the label. They might have a name with ‘noble’ in it on the label. 

Nobley rotted speciality regions

Wines from Sauternes in Bordeaux are famous for this style. And a wine with ‘trockenbeerenauslese’ is also a wine that has been made this way. So too is a Tokaji Aszu and an Alsace SGN, Selection de Grains Nobles. 

Some of these very famous wines command very high prices. Largely in part, because the conditions have to be just right for these highly sought after specialities.  All too often, the conditions have meant that these wines are not made during a particular vintage. 

In saying that, there are some places in the world that do produce excellent quality botrytis wines without the price tag. The Australian botrytis semillons and botrytis rieslings are a place to start. Many of these come from the Griffith region of NSW.

Stopped Ferment

The most common way to make these sweeter wines is by stopping the ferment, either naturally or through winemaker intervention. It might naturally occur once a particulars strain of yeast can no longer process the available sugars to produce alcohol. Or the level of alcohol reached in the wine is too much for that strain of yeast to live and work in. These yeasts then die and the ferment is complete. Many of the lighter bodied sweet white wines are made this way. Such as Sauternes, Ice Wine, Trockenbeerenauslese, Vin Santo, Moscato d’Asti and Tokaji Aszu.

A winemaker can do this either by adding extra alcohol at a stage that leaves a sweet wine with higher alcohol. These types of wines are called the fortified sweet wines. The process, mutage, is how Port, Beaumes de Venise and other sweet fortified wines are produced.

Some Pedro Ximénez wines may be fortified in two stages. With so much sugar from being left to raisin, the soleo process, it is fermentation is often difficult. Therefore, early in the ferment, the wines are fortified once to 10% and left over winter where the wines will continue to ferment slowly. The wine is then fortified again to between 15-18% and it will then enter the Solera system.

An alternative method to making a sweet wine is where, a winemaker chills a wine that has reached the alcohol level they target. They chill the wine down to a temperature that prevents the yeasts from fermenting any further. The wine can then be filtered in various ways to remove the yeast from the wine. This way, the wine will not restart its ferment as the wine warms up. 

Please click here to read about the special sweet Pedro Ximénez wines, commonly known as PX wines.

Added sugar

Some of the most expensive sweet wines are made this way if they are sparkling wines. Indeed, most traditional method sparkling wines have a little addition of sugar and other wine before sealing the bottle for sale. Particularly wines such as Champagne, Cava and Franciacorta. The difference is, of course, that it will depend on how much sugar is in that addition.

This technique should not be confused with the addition of grape concentrate used to sweeten up inexpensive wines that are too acidic and lacking in body and flavour. 

The Moelleux Champagnes receive a sugar rich dosage after disgorgement. Ie. Adding a lot of sugar in liquid form to a Champagne just before sealing the bottle for sale. A sweet Cava, albeit harder to find, will be made the same way.

Asti spumantes with ‘Dolce’ on the label are made slightly differently.

For What to drink them with your sweet wines, please read Those sweet wines... how best to enjoy them

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Whether you are a fan of medium sweet whites or the stickiest of stickies, there really is a great deal of variety to choose from. At my tastings I often hear someone say, ‘Oh, I never really like sweet wines but this is so good!’. The main reason I think people have such a low expectation of these wines is because they have not got to try them with food. And maybe, just maybe, those wine lovers have not yet met ‘the right one’. With the right food, these wines win hearts! 

To read what dishes you can enjoy with sweet wines and how to serve them, please read Those sweet wines... how best to enjoy them' or Please click here to read about the special sweet Pedro Ximénez wines, commonly known as PX wines.

Coming soon is some sweet wine recommendations so that you can explore to your heart’s content. 

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updated February 2025