Late Harvest
Grapes are left on the vine longer to accumulate additional sugar and flavour concentration.
Examples
Late Harvest Riesling, Vendange Tardive
Wine Style Guide
Sweet / Dessert
From delicately off-dry to luscious, concentrated and intensely expressive.
Understanding the style
Sweet and dessert wines are among the most distinctive styles in the wine world, combining residual sugar with acidity, aroma and texture. They can be produced through late harvesting, noble rot, drying grapes, freezing grapes or fortification, creating wines that range from lightly sweet and floral to intensely concentrated, rich and age-worthy.
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Explore the spectrum
Key Wine Styles
Sweet wines are defined not simply by sugar, but by balance. The best examples combine sweetness with sufficient acidity, concentration and aromatic complexity, allowing them to remain fresh rather than heavy.
Noble Rot
Botrytis cinerea concentrates sugars, acidity and flavour while adding distinctive honeyed, saffron and dried-fruit complexity.
Examples
Sauternes, Tokaji Aszú, Beerenauslese
Dried-Grape Wines
Grapes are dried before fermentation, concentrating sugar, flavour and texture.
Examples
Recioto, Vin Santo, Passito
Ice Wine
Naturally frozen grapes are harvested and pressed while frozen, yielding intensely concentrated juice with high acidity.
Examples
Eiswein, Icewine
Aromatic Sweet Wines
Highly perfumed wines with floral, fresh-grape and stone-fruit character, often made from Muscat or similar aromatic varieties.
Examples
Moscato d'Asti, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise
Fortified Dessert Wines
Fermentation is stopped or modified through the addition of spirit, preserving sweetness and increasing alcohol.
Examples
Port, Muscat de Rivesaltes, Madeira
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Behind the style
Key Grape Varieties
Riesling
One of the great sweet-wine grapes, combining intense fruit, high acidity and exceptional ageing potential.
Furmint
The backbone of Tokaji Aszú, prized for high acidity, susceptibility to noble rot and remarkable longevity.
Muscat
Produces intensely aromatic sweet wines with fresh grape, peach, citrus and floral character.
Chenin Blanc
High acidity and natural richness make it ideal for late-harvest and botrytised sweet wines.
Sémillon
A classic noble-rot grape, particularly important in Sauternes, producing honeyed, waxy and richly textured wines.
Gewürztraminer
Highly aromatic, with rose, lychee and spice, and capable of producing rich late-harvest wines.
Garganega
Used in Recioto di Soave, producing concentrated sweet wines with stone fruit, almond and honeyed character.
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In the glass
Typical Tasting Profile
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How it feels
Structure
Structure describes the balance of acidity, tannin, body, sweetness and alcohol that shapes how a wine feels in the glass.
Acidity
Medium to High
Tannin
Low
Body
Light to Full
Sweetness
Off-Dry to Very Sweet
Alcohol
Typically around 5–15% ABV, higher in fortified styles
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Across the wine world
Important Regions
Tokaj
Hungary’s historic sweet-wine region, famous for Tokaji Aszú made primarily from Furmint and Hárslevelű.
Sauternes
A benchmark French region for noble-rot wines based mainly on Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc.
Mosel
Known for delicate, high-acid sweet Riesling styles ranging from Kabinett to Beerenauslese and Eiswein.
Alsace
Produces late-harvest and noble-rot wines from Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat.
Piedmont
Home to Moscato d'Asti and Asti, aromatic low-alcohol sparkling sweet wines.
Rhône Valley
Produces Muscat-based fortified sweet wines such as Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.
Veneto
Known for Recioto styles made from dried grapes, including Recioto della Valpolicella and Recioto di Soave.
Loire Valley
Produces outstanding sweet Chenin Blanc, particularly from botrytised and late-harvest grapes.
Canada
Internationally recognised for Icewine, particularly from Riesling and Vidal.
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At the table
Food Pairings
Sweet wines work best when the wine is at least as sweet as the food. Their combination of sugar and acidity also makes them excellent partners for salty, spicy and rich dishes, not just desserts.
Good with
Foie gras Blue cheese Fruit tart Crème brûlée Cheesecake Stone-fruit desserts Spicy Asian dishes Roast duck Nut-based desserts Dark chocolateThe essential character
What Defines Sweet / Dessert
Sweet and dessert wines are defined by retained natural grape sugar balanced by acidity, concentration and aroma. Their diversity comes from the many ways winemakers can concentrate sweetness, including late harvesting, noble rot, grape drying, freezing and fortification.
Explore the collection
Sweet / Dessert
3
wines
in this collection
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Explore Sweet & Dessert Wines
Discover sweet wines from classic and emerging regions, from aromatic Moscato and late-harvest Riesling to Tokaji, noble-rot wines, dried-grape styles and fortified dessert wines.
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