sweet wine list
Sweet Wines List
Dessert wine - could any other word couple sound more pleasant to an oenophile with a sweet tooth? I think not! Here's a comprehensive sweet wine list to refer to, if you wish to stock up on some sweet, fermented nectar!
- Sauvignon Blanc (Saw-veen-yawhn BlahN)
- Chardonnay (Shar-duh-nay)
- Riesling (REESE-ling)
- Muscat (Moos-caht)
- Sémillon (Say-mee-yoN)
- Gewürztraminer (Geh-VERTZ-trah-mee-nur)
- Chenin Blanc (Shay-naN BlahN)
- White Zinfandel (Zin-fuhn-DELL)
- Pinot Gris (Pee-noe Gree)
- Pinot Blanc (Pee-noe BlahN)
- White Burgundy
- Chablis (Shah-blee)
- Grasă de Cotnari (closest I can get to this one is Graas-uh duh Kotnar-yh)
- Coteaux du Layon (Coat-toe duh Ley-ion)
- Monbazillac (Mohn-Bah-Zee-yahk)
- Traminer
- Marsanne (Mahr-sahn)
- Scheurebe (SHOY-ray-beh)
- Verdelho
- White Bordeaux (Bore-DOH)
- Rkatsiteli (rkah-tsee-tely)
- Furmint (FOOR-mint)
- Hárslevelü (Haar-slay-velyu)
- Auxerrois Blanc (Aus-ser-whah BlahN)
- Kerner
- Beaujolais Nouveau (Boe-zho-lay Noo-woh)
- Port
- Rosé (Rose-ay)
- Merlot (Mare-low)
- Zinfandel (Zin-fuhn-DELL)
- Shiraz/Syrah
- Chianti (Ki-AHN-tee)
- Dornfelder
- Barbera (Bar-BARE-ah)
- Grenache (Gahr-NAH-cha)
- Madeira (Mah-DER-ah) Wine
- Lambrusco
- Kiddush Wine - a Jewish sweet red wine, often made from raisins instead of grapes
- Recioto della Valpolicella
- Brachetto (bra-KAY-toh)
- Vin Santo
- Aleatico
- Cagnina di Romagna (Kanee-nya de Roma-nya)
- Fragolino
- Although often used interchangeably, sweet wine and dessert wine do not refer to the same type of liquor. While sweet wine includes any wine which has a higher sugar content than regular varietals, dessert wine includes only those wines that are paired with meals and this term excludes fortified and white wines that are high on sugar and low on tannins (the chemical that imparts the dry taste to the palate).
- Since sweet wines undergo special harvesting and fermenting processes and most are aged for a longer duration than the regular dry varieties, these wines are somewhat on the expensive side. However, a relatively cheap sweet wine list would typically include the Zinfandel varietals and port. Rosé is also relatively cheaper than most other high-end sweet varietals such as Shiraz or Merlot.
- All raisin-based and ice wines (also called Eiswein) tend to be more on the sweeter side of the taste-scale as in both variants, the grapes get dehydrated, concentrating the sugar content. The Colorado Riesling ICEWINE from the Whitewater Hill Vineyards, Colorado, is a good Eiswein option whereas a Recioto della Valpolicella is a good example of a wine made from raisins.