The wines typically have higher acidity and soft a soft, smooth, low-tannin finish.įood Pairing: chicken, pork, veal, duck, cured meat, French, German, cream sauces, soft cheeses, nutty medium-firm cheeses like Gruyère. Taste: Very red fruited (cherry, cranberry) and red-floral (rose), often with appealing vegetal notes of beet, rhubarb, or mushroomĭescription: Pinot Noir is a dry, light-bodied red that was first widely planted in France. Zinfandel is a red grape that may be better known in its pink variation, White Zinfandel.įood Pairing: chicken, pork, cured meat, lamb, beef, barbecue, Italian, American, Chinese, Thai, Indian, full-flavored like cheddar and firm cheeses such as Manchego.
Wines are fruit-forward and spicy with a medium length finish. Style: Medium-bodied to full-bodied Red Wineĭescription: Zinfandel (aka Primitivo) is a medium-bodied red wine that originated in Croatia. Taste: A broad, exotic array of fruits from stone (overripe nectarine), to red (raspberry, sour cherry), to blue (plum, blueberry), to black (blackberry, boysenberry), Asian 5 Spice Powder, Sweet Tobacco The wine often has a meaty (beef broth, jerky) quality.įood Pairing: lamb, beef, smoked meats Mediterranean, French, and American firm cheeses like white cheddar, and hard cheeses like Spanish Manchego. Syrah is commonly blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to create the red Rhône blend. The wines have intense fruit flavors and medium-weight tannins. Taste: Blueberry, plum, tobacco, cured meat, black pepper, violetĭescription: Syrah (aka Shiraz) is a full-bodied red wine that’s heavily planted in the Rhône Valley in France and Australia. Today, it’s the most popular wine variety in the world! Wines are full-bodied with bold tannins and a long persistent finish driven mostly by the higher levels of alcohol and tannin that often accompany these wines.įood Pairing: lamb, beef, smoked meats, French, American, firm cheeses like aged cheddar and hard cheeses like Pecorino. The result is a golden- to copper-colored wine that boasts notes of peaches, honey, and nuts and lands squarely on the sweet end of the wine sweetness chart.Taste: Black Cherry, Black Currant, Baking Spices, and Cedar (from oak)ĭescription: Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied red grape first heavily planted in the Bordeaux region. Noble rot is a grey fungus cultivated by vintners on certain white grape varietals (in the case of Sauternes, the wine grapes Semillon, Sauvignon blanc, and Muscadelle) in order to concentrate the fruit’s sugars and flavors. Sauternes is made from grapes that have been affected with noble rot, also known as botrytis cinerea. Because of their richness and sweetness, Ruby and Tawny Port are typically drunk after dinner as dessert wines.įrance’s Sauterna is region in Bordeaux is revered for producing a sweet white wine called Sauternes. The result is Tawny Port, which is lighter in color, featuring nutty character and notes of caramel. When aged in barrels, however, port will gradually oxidize. Ruby Port is deep red in color, often fruit-forward, with a lush viscosity. The result is a beverage that’s higher in alcohol and residual sugar content than normal. Port is a Portuguese fortified wine, which means distilled grape spirit is added to the wine mid-fermentation. Often, subtle petrol character can add a delightful counterpoint to the wine’s honey notes. Sweet Rieslings typically offer heady aromas with notes of citrus and orchard fruit.
Germany’s most-grown white wine grape is Riesling, which creates wine exhibiting the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. The first rosé made from Zinfandel grapes is attributed to California’s El Pinal Winery in 1869.
Like other rosé wines, White Zinfandel is produced by allowing grape juice a limited amount of skin contact time - red grape skins offer the white juice some color and tannic quality, resulting in a pink final product. White Zinfandel is a sweet rosé wine made with red Zinfandel grapes. Moscato is also produced in a range of hues from white to red. A sweet, fruity wine with floral aroma of honeysuckle and orange blossom, Moscato may be still, frizzante, or sparkling. Produced in Southern Italy, Moscato is made from the Muscat grape.
White, red, and rosé, here are some of the most beloved sweet wine types and the regions they tend to come from: From Bordeaux’s renowned Sauternes to Moscato wine made in Southern Italy, sweet wines are made and enjoyed all over the world.