Sweet Red Wines

What is a Sweet Red Wine?

I thought it was appropriate to discuss sweet red wines, because there is an emerging group of people who like them. Therefore, producers are starting to meet demand. Some wines are sweeter than others, but first let’s discuss what sweet means in a wine. Sometimes the winemakers add varying amounts of sugar with more than one goal in mind. Sometimes they are simply sweetening the wine, but they might be trying to increase the alcohol level. Many wineries use freshly squeezed grape juice, instead of sugar. I am recommending some wines in this post that fit this category.

In this case, the process is called chaptalization. Remember that sugar plus yeast equals alcohol. The wine won’t be sweet if they allow the yeast to ferment all of the sugar. There are other reasons sugar is added as well. No matter how hard a winery works, some years the wine just isn’t quite right. Therefore, they might add some sugar to hide mistakes or improve the flavor or mouthfeel. I recommend that you serve all these wines well chilled.

Sweet Wine #1

The first of the sweet red wines is called Roscato Rosso Dolce. The rosso dolce means sweet red. Not only is it sweet and red, but it’s Italian. I do favor Italian wines, but I like mostly everything. Props to a friend of mine, KC, who introduced me to it. Normally my first thought was here goes another poor quality sweet wine. But I know better when it comes to Europeans. They don’t make a lot of poor quality wines. And this one doesn’t disappoint. It tastes like a red moscato with some bubbles (frizzante). It is flat out delicious and begs for pizza, pasta, and BBQ. Roscato is from the northern Italian region of Lombardia. It is made from three native grape varieties – croatina, teroldego and lagrein. Also, Roscato comes in a sweet rose, sweet white and pinot grigio styles as well.

Sweet Wine #2

Let’s go to the inventors, Sutter Home, of the only wine (White Zinfandel) that Americans can truly call their own. The wine is simply called Sutter Home Sweet Red wine. It is a blend of Merlot, Zinfandel and their sweet white wine according to their web site, however they don’t make a wine called sweet white? Sutter Home makes a wide array of wines on the sweet side, so try them all. Their Napa tasting room and store is a great place to taste their wines for free and shop.

Sweet Wine #3

As I peruse liquor stores, I find more sweet reds from surprising places. I just found out that Cavit from Italy makes a sweet red. They are clearly marketing it to Americans when the label says sweet red in English. Cavit is more widely known for their inexpensive Pinot Grigio. Their sweet red wine is a blend of Merlot and an indigenous grape called Enantio. However, I taste too much oak after I swallow. It is a strong vanilla finish. Some people like a lot of oak. It is unusual in Italian wines. Therefore, this is a wine created for the U.S. market.

Sweet Red #4

Here is a wine that many people don’t know exist. It is Sparkling Shiraz from Australia. It’s a great summer wine that I discovered years ago and it’s not too sweet. It is slightly bubbly. I am not familiar with the producers so my recommendation is to buy whatever the store has. It’s hard to find.

Sweet Red #5

I know this sounds weighted towards Italy, but they are definitely in the sweet wine game. And this suggestion has centuries of experience behind it. Lambrusco is grown in the region of Emilia-Romagna for the most part. I am not referring to that cheap stuff your grandparents drank from California in the big jugs. Trust me, you will not find good Lambrusco anywhere but Italy. I chose this picture below for two reasons. First, it comes in several styles and Salamino is the style I prefer. Second, this bottle actually says frizzante (slightly fizzy) on it. I always give props to wineries that give us information on the label. I wish they would put grape varieties and percentages as well. Finally, this is pizza wine. No wine is better for pizza.

Sweet Red #6

Sangria from Spain is a great Summer wine. It has to be from Spain to be a true Sangria. It’s red wine infused with fruit flavors. They have been making it for centuries. This is the only time you will hear me say this about wine: serve over ice. Add fruit like grapes and chunks of melons on a stick to make it fun. Note – pouring wine over ice dilutes the wine. Here’s a great alternative idea. Freeze a bunch of grapes and use them instead of the ice cubes. Refrigerate the bottle as well.

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN MY FACEBOOK PAGE CLICK HERE! https://www.facebook.com/howtopickawine/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Please join my Facebook group called How To Pick A Wine, click here. If you would like to read more about label buying, click here. Should you like to see my cheat sheet for wine shopping, please click here. Print it out when you go wine shopping! If you would like to learn more about wine, please click here. Follow me on Instagram @howtopickawine and my Youtube channel named How To Pick A Wine.