Over the years I’ve certainly come to appreciate many different styles of wines.  One subject that I deal with on a daily basis is that of sweet wines.  These are wines that “true wine-lovers” love to hate.  For many, anything remotely sweet is considered taboo and not “true” wine.  The sugar levels and alcohol percentage (a good judge of dryness) come up when discussing almost every single wine. 

As a wine lover myself, I have a confession to make:  I like sweet wines.  A splash of good sweet wine really hits the spot after a heavy (or spicy) meal like nothing else.  It’s cold, refreshing, and it is a good replacement for more heavy foods, such as dessert.  The key to enjoying sweet wines is to keep the portions small and focus on quality over quantity. 

One of the reasons I’ve developed a taste for sweet wines is my wife.  She detests anything dry, but also pushes away anything sweet for sweet’s sake.  White Zinfandel and Moscato, for example, are either too sweet or too sticky for her tastes.  This has led me to discover some wines that fit her tastes and that I can appreciate with her. 

Sangue di Giuda is a wonderful, slightly fizzy red, with just enough depth to appreciate and just enough sweetness to satisfy a sweet tooth.  Our favorite (Giorgi Costarosa $13.99) is a blend of Barbera, Croatina and Uva Rara from Pavese in Italy.  The grapes are crushed and fermented until an alcohol of 6% is established.  It is then chilled to stop fermentation and put into a pressurized steel tank to give it a delightful spritz.  The sugars are nicely balanced by the acidity and tannins of the grapes and the slight bubbles lighten up the wine.  It’s grapey, sweet, smooth and nicely balanced.  The crisp finish makes you want to take sip after sip until the bottle is gone.  It’s fantastic with dark chocolate.

Brachetto di A’cqui is another delightful dessert wine from the Piedmonte area of Italy.  It’s made from its own grape (brachetto) with occasional small amounts of other grapes.  Villa Baglio makes a fantastic one ($13.99), and can be found near the sparkling wines at your local ABC.  Brachetto is a sparkling red wine with many tiny bubbles and fantastic flavors of cherry, raspberry, and plum.  The alcohol is only 6.5%, so you can share a bottle and enjoy your afternoon.  The tannins in this wine balance the sweetness nicely, so it still has a nice dryness at the finish. 

So while they might not be for everyone, some sweet wines have found a home on my rack.  After all, there is nothing like enjoying a bottle of wine with a loved-one.  So take a leap and seek out a sweet wine to introduce to someone who thinks they don’t like wine.

Bill Dahl, wine consultant at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Lakeland

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinebilld.