Sweet wines are those ones that are naturally sweet due to the sugar abundance in their grape-juices, as the yeast has not enough capacity to process the entire sugar quantity.
Sweet wines are classified in two main groups:
- Flavored wines
- Vins doux naturels
It is very important to know this classification because the productions are pretty different. Both wines should have at least 50g of residual sugar per liter to be sweet considered.
Flavored wines
In order to get these wines, it is essential to have a high quantity of sugar in its raw material. Therefore, the target will be getting a grape-juice with great quantities of sugar and from there, produce the different wine types.
Vins doux naturels
Fermentation is stopped because of the wine fortification (by the addition of proof), in this way the alcohol content rises and fermentation is interrupted, producing the residual sugar.
We can find sweet wines such as Muscat and Mistelle inside this category.
Voltaire used to say: ‘Sweet wines are made to think about good things in life’. The final result is a wine with a strong personality and a specific destination as dessert companions, dinner endings or ready to drink between meals. They are perfect as pastry companions, especially those honey-based, and also for nougat, crème brûlée, crepes, puff pastry and crème caramel.