If you’re an old-school wine drinker such as myself, it can come as a bit of a shock to be poured a red wine that turns out to be unconscionably sweet. It’s a bit like taking a big gulp from a mug of tea to which someone has added three sugars. You expect it from an amarone and from wines that carry the description passito or appassimento on the label, because that indicates they have been fermented on partially dried grapes to add extra sweetness.
Certain wine regions tend to produce sweeter reds as a matter of course: Puglia’s primitivo and negroamaro, for instance, and some cheaper wines from the Lisbon region; California reds, too, tend to be sweeter than most European ones, as do some Georgian reds, because it’s a style that was traditionally popular in that country’s former main export market, Russia.
Otherwise, how do you know? The information you need is the residual sugar content – that is, the sugar left over after the grapes are fermented. Stop the fermentation early, which many winemakers do to keep the alcohol down these days, and you’re left with a sweeter wine. But many 14% reds are also off-dry: Morrisons The Best Primitivo and Negroamaro, for example, are 11.5g and 9.5g, respectively. It would be useful to have that information on the back label, or a sweetness scale for reds – much as there sometimes is with rieslings.
That said, sweetness is not something that’s going to put everyone off. There’s a growing trend for sweeter reds, fuelled by the popularity of brands such as Apothic and 19 Crimes, both of which are targeted at younger drinkers, who tend to prefer the taste to wines that are tart or tannic. According to Andrew Cooper, who sources wine for Morrisons, it’s a question of respecting more traditional styles while trying to make red wine more appealing to a wider audience. “We wouldn’t change the classics,” he insists, “but we have tried to ensure that the range is more accessible. We have seen a big uptake from new wine drinkers through letting them know about our naturally sweeter styles and, over time, many of those new drinkers naturally progress to less sweet styles.”
In other words, tastes change. I remember the first wines I drank were medium-dry Spanish whites, but now my preference is for much drier wines – that doesn’t make them superior, simply different. If you wouldn’t criticise someone who has a taste for an ultra-chocolatey devil’s food cake, why would you criticise them for enjoying a sweet red?
If you do find yourself with an off-dry red that you’re not enjoying, try it with sweeter styles of food, rather than sharper or more acidic dishes, which will only make it taste sweeter. Or try it with blue cheese.
From sweet to dry: five reds to try
Morrisons The Best Amarone 2019 £17 (on offer), 10g, 14.5%. If you’re an amarone fan, this thoroughly workmanlike own-label is well worth snapping up on this deal.
Asda Extra Special Primitivo 2022 £6.75 (on offer), 8g, 13.5%. Really quite ripe, almost porty, so a good companion for a cheeseboard.
Buenas Vides Specially Selected Argentinian Bonarda 2022 £6.99 Aldi, 4.5g, 13%. Bright, brambly, Argentinian red. Just a hint of sweetness, which, depending on your palate, you might not even pick up. Would be good with duck.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Calatayud Old Vines Garnacha 2020 £10.50, under 2g per litre, 15%. Not especially sweet, but the high alcohol makes it taste really lush.
Saint George Nemea Agiorgitiko, Skouras 2021 £13.95 The Wine Society, under 2g a litre, 13.5%. Generous, expressive Greek red that shows you can achieve the sensation of ripeness without much in the way of residual sugar. Good for a hearty stew.
• For more by Fiona Beckett, go to fionabeckett.substack.com
