Types of Sweet Wine
"Sweet" is one of dozens of adjectives used to describe the taste and texture of wine. Generally, it refers to the sugar content of a particular bottle. During the wine-making process, yeast in each batch eat the sugars, either inherent in the wine or added, creating alcohol. The amount of sugar left in the batch after the process is finished determines how "sweet" the wine is. The opposite of a sweet wine is a "dry" wine. Does this Spark an idea?
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Sweet Whites
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There are a number of white wines that often have a residual sweet flavor. Although not necessarily sugary, these wines sometimes have a sweeter, rather than drier, flavor. Some examples of sweet whites include Muscats, Rieslings and Gewürztraminers.
Sparkling Wines
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Like other whites, sparkling wines are also sometimes on the sweeter side of the spectrum. Champagne, which is from the Champagne region of France, is a popular variety of sparkling wine. Although there are plenty of dry sparkling wines, many are sweet and are enjoyed with dessert or after dinner.
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Fruit Wines
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Wines are most commonly made of grapes, as grapes have the highest sugar concentration of any fruit in the berry family. However, wines can also be made with a variety of other fruits. Other fruits often do not contain enough sugars to make a high enough percentage of alcohol. In this case, additional sugar needs to be added. Fruit wines traditionally maintain a sweet flavor from residual sugar.
Ice Wine
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Grape growers will sometimes leave the grapes on the vine late into the harvest. Sometimes they even leave them on into first frost. These grapes make ice wine. Letting the grapes linger intensifies the sugars. Unless the wine maker wants to let the yeast continue to give the wine a higher alcohol content, there will be sugars left over, leaving the wine sweet.
Port
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Ports are sweet wines, generally fortified with brandy. They are often enjoyed after a meal with chocolates or cheeses. In Europe, only those from the Douro Valley of Portugal can be called port. Although the law is less strict in the United States, many wineries follow tradition and instead use the term "dessert wines" for their fortified, sweet varieties.
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- Photo Credit diongillard: flickr.com
