Dessert Wines List

Dessert wines are starkly different from your regular wines, because they are much sweeter. While regular wines are served before or during a meal, these are always served after a meal. It is very common for some hosts to serve dessert wine along with dessert, as the wine accentuates the taste of certain types of desserts.

The most common accompaniments for the wines mentioned in dessert wines lists are fruits and bakery products that are served as desserts. The reason for the sweetness is the amount of sugar that is left over in the wine during and after the wine fermentation process.

Different countries have different ways of classifying these wines. Due to this reason the list for different countries may be slightly different from each other. For instance, in the United States any wine with over 14% alcohol by volume is classified as a dessert wine. But in European countries, dessert wines contain almost half as much alcohol.

List of Dessert Wines

Sweet Red Wine
These are some of the most popular dessert wines, but are not made as commonly as sweet white wines. The sweetness is derived from leaving more of the grapes sugar in the wine while making it, or by adding more sugar into the mixture. Sweet red wines will either come as fortified wines (when a beverage like brandy is added to it), or as a late harvest wine. The two most common types of sweet red wines are Port and Banyuls. Both use different types of grapes, but the process of fermentation is similar. In order to make the wine sweeter, the fermentation process is stopped early, and brandy is added to it. Keeping the wine bottled for a lesser amount of time also results in it being sweeter.

Sweet White Wine
Sweet white wines are the most commonly made and consumed wines. The process of making the wine is similar to that of sweet red wines, and these can be fortified by adding brandy as well. Again, the level of sweetness can be controlled, and this can range from a dry sweetness to a syrupy sweetness. Two of the most common sweet white wines are Madeira and Sherry, and these are very popular all around the world.

Ice Wine
Ice wines are sweet dessert wines that are made in extremely cold regions, and hence, they are also known as cold-weather wines. They are most commonly fermented in Germany and the cold Niagra region in Canada. Even though the grapes are ripe, they are left on the vines throughout winter to freeze. Once the grapes are completely frozen, they are picked and then squeezed. The resultant wine is very sweet because the only contents that come out of the squeezed grapes are grape sugar and grape juice. Some of the most popular ice wines are Vidal, Riesling and Schreurebe.

Late Harvest Wine
Any wine that is made from grapes that are left on the vines even after they have ripened, is known as a late harvest wine. By delaying the harvesting process of these grapes, the winemakers are ensuring that there are more sugars present inside the grapes during the wine making process. Almost all the sweet wines that come under dessert wines, are late harvest wines.

Noble Rot Wine
This is another type of wine that tastes very sweet. Most French dessert wines lists contain wines that are of this variety. Noble rot, or Botrytis cinerea, is a type of fungus that grows on the grapes. This is always present on the skin of the grapes, and it causes the grapes to shrivel and dehydrate. This loss of water from the grapes causes an increase in the amount of concentrated sugar inside the grapes. The end result is that the wine tastes much sweeter than it would without the presence of the noble rot.

There are many different ways of making wines sweet, and these ways can be used in combination with each other as well. All the wines that comprise this list are created in a way that is relevant to the culture of that area, and the end results vary immensely. Dessert wines are truly some of the most delicious and satisfying wines that you will ever taste.