Semi-Sweet Red Wine Might Not Be That Sweet

Really? A red wine that is semi-sweet? It’s true. It is possible to have a semi-sweet red wine. It is possible to create a semi-sweet version of practically any wine. However, the terms semi-sweet and semi-dry for red wines do not apply as easily as with white wines. A wine chart offered by winefolly.com offers the following technical information on residual sugar (yeast converts sugar into ethanol alcohol, but the sugar content sometimes is more than the capability of the fermenting yeast, hence residual sugar).

• Dessert wines, such as a port, have more sweetness (7%-9% or more residual sugar)

• A sweet red table wine is above 5%

• Semi-sweet (or the flip side, semi-dry) is at 3% or slightly higher

• Dry reds start at 1% or less

These classifications of what constitutes a dry, semi, or sweet wine are guidelines that help to determine where a wine fits in the greater scheme of sweetness. Guidelines can blur when pitted against an individual’s taste buds.

Semi-Sweet Red Wine is Sweeter...or Not

For example, I am a wine drinker who prefers a good semi-sweet wine. I usually gag on a Sangiovese or a Cabernet Sauvignon as I pick the grains of sand from the desert of dryness from my teeth. The same holds true for an overly sweet wine that tastes more like cotton candy than something I would enjoy while having a good conversation. Still, I have been served a dry wine drinker’s standard of Merlot, only to do a double-take. The same is true for a Malbec. And in the same breath, I have had a Zinfandel, considered by many to be a semi-sweet. Yet, it tasted like the Sahara in my mouth.

The winery did not mislabel the wine. Its residual sugar content met the guidelines to fit the appropriate sweetness/dryness category. Yet, my taste buds told me something very different.

Do you see the common thread woven through this platform? A wine or distilled spirit may fit a particular taste segment, or some “expert” may push a specific type of wine. However, the bottom line is that you will drink the wine you enjoy (or at least you should) regardless of what someone else says—and this is great!

Wisconsin wineries offer a wide variety of red wines, including semi-sweet reds. Make a plan today to visit one of the many local wineries and find your favorite semi-sweet red wine.