These Are The Best Sweet Wines, According To Sommeliers And Bartenders

Yes, some wines are a bit sweet, but sweet wines as a category encompass dessert wines that are extra sweet, perfect for after dinner or for pairing with nuts, meats and cheeses, or desserts. Consulted with sommeliers and bartenders to get their picks for the best sweet wines, from Sauternes and Moscatel to ice wine and sherry.

But what exactly is a sweet wine? "The answer is a bit complicated, but also very simple," said Master Sommelier Dustin Wilson, co-founder of Verve Wine and founding partner of the Apres Cru hospitality company. He explained that leftover unfermented sugars in wine, also called residual sugars, are what cause wines to be sweet.

"It's hard to say at what level a wine starts to be perceived as being sweet, as things like acidity and tannin can mask the sugar from coming through," he said. "Even some wines where you can taste the sweetness, like a Kabinett Riesling from Germany, for example, aren't wines that I would discuss as being 'sweet,' but rather I'd call that 'off-dry.'" He says that he'd categorize a wine as sweet when it has enough residual sugar that he'd pair it with a sweet dessert.

Looking for more wine recs? We have plenty. Take a peek at our picks for the best non-alcoholic wines, sweet red wines, white wines, and gifts for wine lovers.