Types of Dessert Wine

Dessert wines, often called pudding wines or simply sweet wines, represent the peak of wine sweetness, with rich flavors that pair beautifully with treats like cakes and chocolates. With more than 45 grams of sugar per liter, these wines are designed to bring a luxurious, full-bodied sweetness to the end of a meal.

Interestingly, the meaning of “dessert wine” can shift depending on where you are. In the U.S., the term often includes fortified wines like port and sherry. In the U.K., though, when people talk about dessert wines, they’re generally referring to non-fortified, naturally sweet wines, like a late-harvest Riesling. This diversity in styles offers something for every wine connoisseur, whether you’re someone who enjoys exploring intricate flavor profiles or simply looking to enjoy a sweet, satisfying end to a meal.

Dessert wines typically have an alcohol content (ABV) ranging from 5% to 16%, which places them in the same ballpark as most other wines. The exception to this is fortified wines, such as port and sherry, which have a higher ABV — usually 20% or more.

Where Does the Sweetness in Dessert Wine Come From

During winemaking or vinification, most of the sugars in the must (the grape juice and pulp) usually turn into alcohol through fermentation. However, in dessert wines, winemakers intentionally keep some of that sugar unfermented so the wine retains a sweeter taste.

There are a few different techniques to make this happen:

• Late Harvest: Grapes stay on the vine longer, getting extra sun that boosts their natural sugars. These “late-harvest” wines, like French Sauternes or Rieslings, bring out honeyed, fruity flavors.
• Noble Rot (Botrytis): A friendly fungus (Botrytis cinerea) dries the grapes gently, concentrating their sugars and adding unique layers of flavor. Hungarian Tokaji and Sauternes are classic examples.
• Freezing: Grapes freeze naturally on the vine and are pressed while still frozen, extracting only the sweet, sugary juice to vinify. German and Canadian ice wines are known for this lush, vibrant style.
• Fortifying: Adding spirits to the wine early stops fermentation, keeping it sweet and strong. This “fortifying” wine gives us styles like Port from Portugal and some styles of Sherry from Spain.
• Drying: Grapes are harvested and then laid out to dry, turning them into raisins, concentrating their juice, and deepening their flavors. Italian wines like Recioto and Vin Santo use this method for a complex, syrupy sweetness.

List of Different Varieties of Dessert Wine

Below is a list of some of the most popular dessert wines, along with their residual sugar (RS) content, which decides the sweetness of the wine. This plays an important role when it comes to wine-food pairing.

Name					Flavor Notes	Pairing Ideas	Popular Brands
Sweet Riesling	Origin: Rhine, Germany	ABV:    8-12%	Type: White	RS: 50–250 g/l	Fruity, citrus, honey, smoky	Light fruit tarts, soft cheeses (Brie, Camembert), spicy Asian dishes	Weingut Markus Molitor, Dr. Loosen
Sauternes	Sauternes, France	13-14%	White	120–220 g/l	Apricot, honey, spices, nuts	Foie gras, blue cheeses, creamy desserts like crème brûlée, fruit-based desserts like peach cobbler, fruit tarts	Château d’Yquem, Château Rieussec
Muscat of Alexandria	Egypt	15-16%	White	120–200 g/l	Floral, fruity, orange blossom, honey	Shortbread, fresh berries, blue cheese, creamy desserts like dulce de leche, white chocolate mousse	De Bortoli Wines, Yalumba
Port	Douro Valley, Portugal	19-20%	Red	100–200 g/l	Balckberry, raspberry, chocolate, cinnamon, caramel	Rich fruitcakes, spiced nuts, chocolate desserts, sharp cheeses (blue, stilton)	Taylor Fladgate, W & J Graham’s
Madeira	Madeira Island, Portugal	18-20%	Red, white	75–100 g/l	Caramel, orange zest, spices, roasted nuts, dried fruits	Nut-based cakes, aged cheeses (Parmesan, Gruyère), grilled meat (duck, sausages)	Blandy’s, Henriques & Henriques
Dessert Sherry	Andalusia, Spain	15-20%	White	115–212 g/l	Fig, raisin, molasses, caramel	Chocolate mousse, bread pudding, cinnamon-spiced desserts, crème brûlée, roasted nuts	Bodegas Hidalgo, González Byass Nectar PX
Sweet Marsala	Marsala, Italy	15-20%	White	100+ g/l	Caramel, apricot, vanilla, toffee	Biscotti, tiramisu, chocolate desserts, roasted nuts	Florio, Pellegrino
Ortega	Würzburg, Germany	8-10%	White	45–200 g/l	Fruity, peach, apple, honey	Crème brûlée, soft cheeses, roasted nuts, oysters, fruit-based desserts like peach cobbler, apple strudel	Verónica Ortega
Huxelrebe	Alzey, Germany	8-12%	White	50-200 g/l	Floral, fruity, rhubarb, elderflower, honey	Fruit tarts, baked apples with honey, caramel desserts, soft cheeses	Weingut Gysler, Weingut Darting
Vin Santo	Tuscany, Italy	14-16%	White	80-250 g/l	Raisin, cherry, fig, bergamot, caramel	Biscotti, dried fruit, nutty desserts like baklava	Avignonesi, Fattoria dei Barbi
Banyuls	Roussillon, France	16-17%	Red	80-90 g/l	Strawberry, prune, chocolate, coffee	Chocolate mousse, berry tarts, soft cheeses (Brie), spiced nuts	Domaine La Tour Vieille
Commandaria	Commandaria, Cyprus	15-20%	Red, white	200–300 g/l	Dried fruits, caramel, spices	Chocolate cake, dried fruits, spiced nuts, hard cheeses (Manchego), glazed grilled meats	KEO, ETKO
Tokaji Aszú (Tokay)	Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary	10-12%	White	120–150 g/l	Apricot, honey, ginger, orange zest	Foie gras, blue cheeses (Roquefort), almond cake, fruit-based desserts like apricot tart	Royal Tokaji, Disznókő
German Eiswein	Germany	6-9%	White, red	180-320 g/l	Fruity, apricot, peach, honey	Fruit sorbet, lemon meringue pie, cheesecake, roasted nuts, fruit salads,	Weingut Dönnhoff, Dr. Loosen
Canadian Icewine	Okanagan Valley, Canada	8-13%	White, red	180-320 g/l	Peach, apricot, molasses, maple, hazelnut	Rich fruit tarts, goat cheese, creamy desserts like panna cotta, crème brûlée	Peller Estates, Inniskillin
Sciachetrà	Cinque Terre, Italy	13-14%	White	100–150 g/l	Dried fruits, honey, caramel	Almond cake, fig-based desserts, fruit cakes, hard cheeses	Cantina Cinque Terre, Azienda Agricola Possa
Recioto di Soave	Recioto di Soave, Italy	12-14%	White	60-100 g/l	Apricot, citrus, honey	Fruit tarts, soft cheeses, biscotti, hazelnut desserts	Pieropan, Giovanni Menti
Recioto della Valpolicella	Valpolicella, Italy	12-14%	White	110–120 g/l	Cherry, plum, chocolate	Chocolate desserts, fruit cakes, roasted nuts, aged cheeses (Gorgonzola)	Giuseppe Quintarelli
TBA/ Trockenbeerenauslese	Germany	6-8%	White	150-300 g/l	Caramel, honey, stone fruits like apricot	Caramelized nuts, crème brûlée, aged and strong cheeses like Gouda and blue cheese	Kracher, Egon Müller
Muscat Blanc (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains)	Samos, Greece	13-15%	White	50+ g/l	Floral, fruity, citrus, caramel, nuts	Apple pie, chocolate cake, sweet & spicy Asian dishes	Domaine des Bernardins

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