page_title: Sweetness of wine
section_title: Residual sugar
hierarchical_section_title: Sweetness of wine / Residual sugar
caption_attribution_description: Spanish sparkling rose wine made in the semi-Seco style
context_page_description: The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and bitter tannins counteract it. These principles are outlined in the 1987 work by Émile Peynaud, The Taste of Wine.
context_section_description: Among the components influencing how sweet a wine will taste is residual sugar. It is usually measured in grams of sugar per litre of wine, often abbreviated to g/l or g/L. Residual sugar typically refers to the sugar remaining after fermentation stops, or is stopped, but it can also result from the addition of unfermented must (a technique practiced in Germany and known as Süssreserve) or ordinary table sugar. 
  Even among the driest wines, it is rare to find wines with a level of less than 1 g/L, due to the unfermentability of certain types of sugars, such as pentose. By contrast, any wine with over 45 g/L would be considered sweet, though many of the great sweet wines have levels much higher than this. For example, the great vintages of Château d'Yquem contain between 100 and 150 g/L of residual sugar. The sweetest form of the Tokaji, the  Eszencia, contains over 450 g/L, with exceptional vintages registering 900 g/L. Such wines are balanced, keeping them from becoming cloyingly sweet, by carefully developed use of acidity. This means that the finest sweet wines are made with grape varieties that keep their acidity even at very high ripeness levels, such as Riesling and Chenin blanc. 
  How sweet a wine will taste is also controlled by factors such as the acidity and alcohol levels, the amount of tannin present, and whether the wine is sparkling or not. A sweet wine such as a Vouvray can actually taste dry due to the high level of acidity. A dry wine can taste sweet if the alcohol level is elevated. Medium and sweet wines have a perception among many consumers of being of lower quality than dry wines. However, many of the world's great wines, such as those from Sauternes (including Barsac) or Tokaj, have a high level of residual sugar, which is carefully balanced with additional acidity to produce a harmonious result.
caption: A Spanish sparkling Cava with its sweetness level (semi-seco) listed on the label.
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