Many wine enthusiasts have “gateway” drinks that open up to the world of wine. The sweet white wine can be most accessible for novices to drink and has a special place on the dining tables with desserts and as a reward.
Most sweet white wines typically have honeyed or candied fruits, whereas off-dry types (semi-sweet) provide a bit of minerality.
The wide variety of grapes guarantees that every taste is accommodated, regardless of the sweetness of your palate.
Ice Wine is the sweetest kind, with White Port, Moscato, and Riesling all being extremely sweet.
What is “Sweetness” in Wine, and How is it Determined?
The sweetness of wine is determined by the amount of sugar residual (RS) the wine can contain. It is a natural source of sugars (fructose) within grapes that remain in the wine following fermentation in alcohol.
It is measured in grams per litre. 1% of sweetness equals 10 grams per litre of the remaining sugar.
The yeast converts sugar to alcohol in the course of fermentation. Therefore, generally speaking, the higher amount of alcohol an alcohol-based wine contains more sugar, the lower the residual sugar that it will have.
Dry wine can contain some sugar that is left in it. However, most cannot detect levels of sweetness below 1.5 per cent…
Which is your best choice for an alcoholic wine?
The best indicator of this is ABV (Alcohol by Volume). Any table wine with less than 12.5 per cent ABV will be sweet. Moscato, Asti Spumante, rose wines, and Riesling wines typically come with an ABV of less than 10%…
What is the difference between a sweet wine and a dry one?
Dry and sweet wines are on opposite ends of the scale of sweetness.
For dry wines in dry wines, the entire grape sugar is transformed into alcohol. A sweet wine will still have residual sugar. “Off-dry” or “semi-dry” wines can have slight sweetness from residual sugar, although not so much as dry wines.
9 Different Types of Semi-Sweet White Wines
There are 9 exciting semi-sweet white wines together with descriptions, suggested foods to pair with them, and the best wine to buy:
- Moscato
- Riesling
- Pinot Gris
- Chardonnay
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Semillon
- Gewurztraminer
- Chenin Blanc
- Vidal Blanc
1.Moscato
It is distinguished by its delicious grapefruit flavours and its floral scent.
The flavour profile opens with delightful peach, Apricot, and citrus orange flavours and an underlying hint of vanilla.
Food Pairings for Appetizers: Appetizers, fruit-based desserts and meals made of meat such as Pork Tenderloin
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The best bottle to test this year: is Markovic Estates Reserve Mocato Semi Sweet ($8)
2.Riesling
Riesling is the white variety of grapes that produces dry and sweet white wine varieties. Be sure to read the label before buying an alcoholic bottle of wine.
Riesling wine is rich and delicious, with fresh flavours of honeysuckle and peach. The taste is tropical, with a fruit flavour balanced with bright acidity and a crisp finish.
Food Combinations: Ham, Pork and delicate raw fish
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Best Bottle: 2015 Grosset ‘Alea’ Off-Dry Riesling ($48)
3.Pinot Gris
Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) is a white wine grape variety. It is a variation of the dark Pinot Noir wine grape. Pinot Gris is used to creating sweet and dry white wines.
Pinot Gris is well-known for its apricot-like stone fruit aroma, its refreshing flavours of green apples, as well as exotic fruit flavours.
Food Pairings with Spicy Food and savoury seafood, such as hot grilled shrimp
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Best Bottle: 2005 Albert Boxler Pinot Gris Brand $65
4.Chardonnay
Semi-sweet Chardonnay Wines have fruity aromas and oaky notes.
It also has rich citrus fruits and a subtle scent of vanilla and melon.
Food Pairings with Seafood: pasta alfredo fettuccine
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Best Bottle: 2014 Radevic Estate Wines Chardonnay Semi Sweet ($29)
5.Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc wines generally feature a tropical fruit spiciness as well as a floral, bright fragrance.
The wine also features a bright palate filled with juicy green apple and mango flavours.
Food Pairings: Fish with lemon flavour as well as chicken
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Best Bottle: Madame Coco Semi Sweet Sauvignon Blanc ($8)
6.Semillon
Semillon wine is bursting with fruit flavours, such as green papaya, pear and lemon. Semillon can be mixed with Sauvignon Blanc to create a rich, syrupy wine.
Food Pairings for Shellfish: Fish and meat dishes served with sauces made of cream
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Best Bottle: 2012 Tower Estate Semillon ($19)
7.Gewurztraminer
The Gewurztraminer grape is extensively grown in the Alsace region. Gewurztraminer makes up 19.4 per cent of the region’s wine production.
This white wine sweet style is fruity and has scents of rose petals, peach, lychee and Apricot.
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Best Bottle: 2015 Domaines Schlumberger Gewurztraminer Les Princes Abbes ($29)
8.Chenin Blanc
Semi-sweet Chenin Blanc wines are made of late-harvesting wine grapes. The wines from the late harvest have the most concentrated ginger and stone fruit flavours and an aroma of flowers. If you’re a fan of the Chenin Blanc, grapes have been damaged by Noble Rot. There’s some saffron and smoke.
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Best Bottle: Vina Vieja Chenin Blanc Semi-Sweet ($4)
9.Vidal Blanc
This sweet white wine offers an aroma reminiscent of apricots, orange blossoms, and oranges, making it a wonderful drinking option for the summer months. It also has an amazing honeyed nectarine aroma and lively minerality.
Food Pairings: Easy sandwiches including sauerkraut, pork and ham and melons and desserts based on fruit.
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Best Bottle: Wagner Vineyards Vidal Blanc Ice ($60)
VinePair’s Tasting Methodology
Through the year VinePair organizes tastings throughout the year for the wildly popular Buy This Booze column, along with wine and spirit reviews. We aim to be an easy, trustworthy source of information to drinkers with a complete guide for everyday buying and drinking.
The tastings typically aren’t performed without a blindfold. To be in line with our review purpose, we advocate deliberately tasting every product as typical of our readers without knowing the source, the area as well as the cost.
When we do Buy This Booze rounds, we usually only include one brand’s expression, but we allow for multiple items from the same manufacturing facility (i.e. releases under different brands).
We considered different factors before deciding on this selection of the top white wines. The goal was to present various wines with different styles and regions, with all price points, that would best fit each event.
What Kind of Wine Is Sweet White Wine?
Sweet wines have some sugar left over after the fermentation process. The sugar that remains can be used as a preservation agent, which is why sweet wines are perfect for storage over the long term.
The sweetness of a wine is affected by the number of tannins, acids, as well as alcohol that it contains. Sugar and alcohol increase the sweetness of a wine, while acidity and tannins reduce the sweetness.
Food Pairings
This wine goes well with chocolate desserts such as gourmet. Like, for instance, Gianduja. It is also a great match for desserts. Furthermore, it makes perfect companions to the foie gras of blue cheese as well as caramelized duck. Furthermore, the wine can also be enjoyed independently, making it one of the top sweet white wines on this list.
Conclusion
It’s not as difficult to get a quality sweet white wine as it appears. But, it is possible to be overwhelmed by the plethora of options. The following list of top sweet white wines available is designed to aid you in making a decision. The list is not necessarily complete, but it’s a good base. Find distributors like those listed on vivino.com and enjoy one of these delicious sugary white wines. Sweet!