Stigmas of Sweet Wine

The more tenured members of our industry often see sweet wine as an aberration of long-standing winemaking traditions, yet sweet wine reigns in popularity. Those who enjoy sweet wine have no shame -- and rightfully so! Though sweet versus dry wine stereotypes are evident, we don't often discuss why they exist or whence they originated.

As a winemaker, I firmly believe sweet wine can also be great wine.

Contrary to common thought, "dry" only means that wine has no residual sugar, not necessarily a description of how your mouth will feel. Before modern methods of pasteurization or filtration existed, wines needed to be dry because there was no way to stop alcoholic fermentation and prevent re-fermentation. There are a few exceptions, such as fortified Port-style wines, ice wine, or noble rot, but most wines were made dry throughout history to ensure a reliable and stable product. Simply put: dry wine was less likely to spoil.

While dry wine typically has more nuance, deeper extraction of perceivable flavor, and more capacity to pair well with food, there are sweet wines with more depth and complexity of which dry wines could only dream. Dry wine diehards should check out Sauternes as a beautiful example of complex sweet wine. Suduiraut, d’Yquem, and d’Arche are among many Chateaus in Bordeaux who are bottling liquid gold. Our own 2018 CVSK Port-style wine is another interesting sweet wine that dry wine drinkers can enjoy.

The majority of Midwesterners find that sweet wine checks a lot of boxes. It's often more approachable for someone new to the world of wine, and it can become a comfortable mainstay, whereas exploring dry wine is often a more challenging endeavor for someone who prefers sweet wine. Our guests will ask me, "what's a good dry wine for a sweet wine drinker?" The answer varies based on their acceptance of tannins, as it is often the presence of tannins that discourages sweet wine drinkers from enjoying a dry wine. View a tannic wine like an over-steeped black tea. The feeling of that beverage on your palate is going to be grippy and slightly astringent, stripping the moisture from your mouth. A sweet wine drinker usually cannot enjoy a tannic wine right away. Alcohol also plays a role in astringency, another critical component in shaping one's opinion of "dry wine." Our cool-climate Pinot Noir or unoaked dry Touriga Nacional is usually an excellent start for a sweet wine drinker looking to explore dry wines.

We also find that wines with traces of residual sugar, or "off-dry" wines, can showcase the best of both worlds. We made our best-selling red blend Barreja - Catalonian for "blend" - for that very reason. A swanky combination of some of the softer, more approachable grapes in the winery with just a touch of residual sugar has made Barreja a great bridge into the world of dry wine, easily shared by dry and sweet wine lovers alike.

Whatever your mainstays, there's a wide world of wine waiting to be explored. The next time you visit a winery, try something a little outside of your comfort zone. You'll be amazed at the delicious wines you might have missed.

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Eric Harris

Owner, Director of Winemaking