Facts you must know about sweet red wines
Sweet red wines aren’t what many people think of when they consider red wines. Red wines are usually robust and quite dry. This is because most red wines are left to ferment longer than are white wines or rosés. Fermentation is the process where sugar is changed into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The longer the grape is fermented, the less sugar it has. Many sweet red wines are considered dessert wines, though mavrodaphne can be eaten with highly seasoned poultry and red meats. Many sweet red wines are also fortified, which usually means that brandy has been added to them.
Mavrodaphne, Marsala, Malaga
Mavrodaphnes are sweet red wines from Greece, where wine was supposed to have been invented by Dionysus, the god of wine. Mavrodaphne is made from the grape of the same name and is made in the complex solera process where vats are continuously filled and refilled over years. Malaga is a sweet red wine from the Spanish municipality of Malaga, while marsala, another fortified wine, is from the Italian island of Sicily. Marsala is often classified by its sweetness, with the sweetest of these wines having over 100 grams of sugar in a liter of wine. Red marsala is known as rubino.
Vinho verdes are sweet red wines from Portugal. The name means “green wine,” but that doesn’t describe the wine’s color but its fresh, young, open taste. Vinho verde is from Portugal and is supposed to be drunk no less than a year after it was bottled. Grapes that go into making red vinho verde are the Amaral, Vinhåo, Azal Tinto, Rabo de Ovelha and Borraçal. These grapes are usually grown on very tall supports that require workers to stand on ladders to pick them. This is because of a centuries old law that forced the vines to be grown on the edges of fields to make room for corn. The red vinho verde wines are a little cloudy, but slightly and wonderfully bubbly. Often, sugar is added to them for export.
Another of the sweet red wines is Recioto della Valpolicella. This red wine is sweet because the fermentation is naturally stopped before the sugar can be converted to alcohol. One of the reasons for this halted fermentation is the Botrytis fungus, which causes the grapes to rot. However, many vintners prize this fungus because it enhances the flavor and richness of the wines, and so is known as “noble rot.” Recioto della Valpolicella wine goes very well with chocolate or chocolate desserts.
New World Wines
Concord grapes, grown in the northeastern part of the United States, are also used to make sweet red wines, especially passover wines. Some people find them cloying or find that they have a disagreeable, musky flavor and bouquet described as “foxy.” The Isabella grape, or the fox grape, is a dark purple grape that’s also used for sweet wines. Though it’s not nearly as popular as the Concord grape, it’s grown in upper New York State and other northern climates because it’s resistant to disease and can tolerate harsh winters. It’s also known as the Albany Surprise grape.
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