The easiest sweet wines for beginners are Moscato d'Asti, German Riesling Kabinett, White Zinfandel, Lambrusco Amabile and Brachetto d'Acqui: fruity, light and easy to find. When you want something richer to sip with dessert, try Sauternes or a Ruby Port.
Below are 15 named sweet and off-dry wines you can ask for in a shop or restaurant, grouped by colour and marked off-dry, medium-sweet or sweet so you know what to expect. For the sugar levels behind those words, keep our wine sweetness chart open alongside this list.
Sweet wine names at a glance: how sweet is each one?
Wine people use three main words for sweetness. Off-dry means a light touch of sugar that softens the wine without making it taste sweet. Medium-sweet is clearly sweet but still fresh enough to drink with a meal. Sweet is dessert territory: rich, luscious and best in small glasses.
Under EU rules, a still wine labelled dry has at most 4 grams of sugar per litre (g/L), or up to 9 g/L when its acidity is high. Medium dry goes up to 12 g/L (18 g/L with high acidity), medium sweet up to 45 g/L, and sweet is anything above 45 g/L. In the table, low alcohol means roughly 10% or less, medium about 10–13%, and high above that.
Wine
Colour and type
Sweetness
Alcohol
Serve at
Riesling Kabinett
White
Off-dry to medium-sweet
Low
7–10°C
Vouvray demi-sec
White
Off-dry
Medium
7–10°C
Gewürztraminer
White
Off-dry
Medium to high
10–13°C
Moscato
White, often lightly fizzy
Medium-sweet to sweet
Low
6–10°C
White Zinfandel
Pink
Off-dry to medium-sweet
Low to medium
7–10°C
Rosé d'Anjou
Pink
Off-dry to medium-sweet
Low to medium
7–10°C
Lambrusco Amabile or Dolce
Red, lightly sparkling
Medium-sweet (Amabile) or sweet (Dolce)
Low to medium
6–10°C
Brachetto d'Acqui
Red, sparkling
Sweet
Very low
6–10°C
Sweet red blend
Red
Medium-sweet
Medium
12–14°C
Moscato d'Asti
White, lightly sparkling
Sweet
Very low
6–10°C
Prosecco Extra Dry
White, sparkling
Off-dry
Medium
6–10°C
Demi-sec Champagne
White, sparkling
Medium-sweet
Medium
6–10°C
Sauternes
White, dessert
Sweet
Medium to high
6–10°C
Ice wine
White, dessert
Sweet
Low to medium
6–10°C
Ruby Port
Red, fortified
Sweet
High (19–22%)
16–18°C
Where to start: if sweet wine is new to you, begin with an off-dry or medium-sweet bottle such as Riesling Kabinett, Lambrusco Amabile or Moscato d'Asti, then move on to the fully sweet dessert wines. If you would rather go the other way, our guide to low-sugar wine lists the driest choices.
Sweet white wines for beginners
White wines are the gentlest way into sweetness, because fresh acidity (the mouth-watering, zesty quality in wine) balances the sugar.
Riesling Kabinett (off-dry to medium-sweet)
Taste: green apple, lime and peach, light and zesty.
Riesling from Germany, especially the Mosel, is the classic first sweet white. Kabinett is the lightest of Germany's ripeness levels, and unless the label says trocken (dry), it usually has some sweetness balanced by bright acidity and low alcohol. Our guide to Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese explains the whole ladder.
Vouvray demi-sec (off-dry)
Taste: baked apple, quince and honey, with a soft, waxy feel.
Vouvray is a Loire Valley white made from Chenin Blanc. The same area makes dry (sec), off-dry (demi-sec) and sweeter (moelleux) versions, so the word on the label matters. Demi-sec is a lovely middle ground: rounder than a dry white but still fresh.
Gewürztraminer (off-dry)
Taste: lychee, rose petals and ginger, rich and perfumed.
Gewürztraminer smells so sweet that people often assume it is sweeter than it is. Many bottles, especially from Alsace in France, are off-dry, and the grape's low acidity makes them feel soft and round. Check the label: some are fully dry, and late-harvest versions are very sweet.
Moscato (medium-sweet to sweet)
Taste: peach, orange blossom and fresh grapes, often with a gentle spritz.
Wines sold simply as Moscato, often from California or Australia, are made from the Moscato (Muscat) grape family. They are low in alcohol, very fruity and easy to like, and many have a light fizz.
Is rosé wine sweet? Sweet pink wines to try
Most rosé is dry, including the pale rosés of Provence. A few pink styles are made with deliberate sweetness, though, and these two are the easiest to find.
White Zinfandel (off-dry to medium-sweet)
Taste: strawberry, watermelon and candy floss, soft and juicy.
Despite the name, White Zinfandel is pink. It is made in California from the red Zinfandel grape, with only brief contact with the dark skins for colour and some grape sugar left in. It is light, low in tannin (the drying grip you feel from red wine) and a very common first wine.
Rosé d'Anjou (off-dry to medium-sweet)
Taste: raspberry, redcurrant and a little sweet cherry.
This gently sweet rosé comes from Anjou in France's Loire Valley and is often led by the local Grolleau grape. Its cousin, Cabernet d'Anjou, is made from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon and is usually a little sweeter and fuller.
Sweet red wines for beginners
Most red wine is dry, so sweet reds come from a handful of specific styles. When shopping, look for the names below; all three are easy reds you serve cool.
Lambrusco Amabile or Dolce (medium-sweet or sweet)
Taste: black cherry, blackberry and violets, with a frothy fizz.
Lambrusco is a lightly sparkling red from Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. It comes in dry (secco), medium-sweet (amabile) and sweet (dolce) versions, so choose by that word on the label. Served cool, it is low in tannin, fun and very food-friendly.
Brachetto d'Acqui (sweet)
Taste: strawberry, raspberry and rose petals, light and frothy.
This sparkling red from Piedmont in north-west Italy is like a red cousin of Moscato d'Asti: very low in alcohol, sweet and perfumed. It is a classic match for strawberries and chocolate.
Sweet red blend (medium-sweet)
Taste: jammy blackberry, cherry and vanilla, soft and smooth.
Many shops sell red wines labelled simply sweet red or sweet red blend, often from the United States. They are blended for soft, ripe fruit and very little tannin, with enough sugar left in to taste noticeably sweet.
For something richer, Port is the best-known sweet red and appears below with the dessert wines. Recioto della Valpolicella is a rarer treat from northern Italy: made from grapes dried for months after picking, it is the sweet sibling of the dry, powerful Amarone.
Sweet sparkling wines
Sparkling wine labels use their own sweetness words, and they can be confusing: Extra Dry is sweeter than Brut. From driest to sweetest, the EU terms run Brut Nature (under 3 g/L), Extra Brut (0–6), Brut (under 12), Extra Dry (12–17), Dry (17–32), Demi-sec (32–50) and Doux (above 50).
Moscato d'Asti (sweet)
Taste: fresh grapes, peach, pear and orange blossom, gently fizzy.
From Piedmont in north-west Italy, Moscato d'Asti may be the best sweet wine for beginners of all: usually around 5–6% alcohol, softly sparkling and full of fruit. Its fully sparkling sibling, Asti, is a little stronger and more bubbly.
Prosecco Extra Dry (off-dry)
Taste: green apple, pear and white flowers, light and frothy.
Prosecco comes in several sweetness levels. Extra Dry holds 12–17 g/L of sugar, enough to round off the edges without tasting obviously sweet. If Brut feels too sharp for you, try Extra Dry; for a little more sweetness, look for Prosecco labelled Dry.
Demi-sec Champagne (medium-sweet)
Taste: brioche, baked apple and honey, with fine bubbles.
Most Champagne is Brut, but Demi-sec versions carry 32–50 g/L of sugar. That makes them a natural match for fruit and desserts, where a dry Champagne would taste thin and sour.
Dessert and fortified sweet wines
Dessert wines are fully sweet and usually served in small glasses with pudding, or instead of it. Fortified wines have grape spirit added, which raises the alcohol. These three are classics worth knowing, alongside Hungary's Tokaji Aszú and the dark, raisiny Pedro Ximénez sherry from Spain.
Sauternes (sweet)
Taste: apricot, honey, orange marmalade and a little ginger.
Sauternes comes from Bordeaux and is made mostly from Sémillon grapes shrivelled by noble rot, a helpful fungus that concentrates sugar and flavour. It is rich and golden but balanced by acidity, so good examples feel luscious rather than syrupy. A half bottle goes a long way.
Ice wine (sweet)
Taste: pineapple, lemon, honey and apricot, intense and zesty.
Ice wine (Eiswein in German) is made from grapes left to freeze on the vine and pressed while still frozen, so only a little concentrated, sugary juice runs out. Canada and Germany are the best-known sources.
Ruby Port (sweet)
Taste: blackberry, plum, cherry and a hint of chocolate.
Port is a fortified red from Portugal's Douro Valley. Grape spirit is added during fermentation, which stops it while plenty of natural sugar remains and lifts the alcohol to around 19–22%. Ruby is the youngest, fruitiest style; our guide to the types of Port covers tawny, vintage and the rest.
Like all wine, these are for adults of legal drinking age and best enjoyed in moderation.
How to tell if a wine is sweet from the label
Many bottles do not state their sweetness at all, but these words are reliable clues. Our guide on how to read a wine label covers the rest of the label.
Italian:abboccato (off-dry), amabile (medium-sweet), dolce (sweet), passito (made from dried grapes, usually sweet) and recioto (a sweet wine from dried grapes).
French:demi-sec (off-dry on still wine), moelleux (medium-sweet), doux (sweet), liquoreux (very sweet) and vendanges tardives (late harvest).
German:halbtrocken or feinherb (off-dry), lieblich (medium-sweet) and süß (sweet). The ripeness levels Spätlese and Auslese are usually sweet unless the label says trocken, and Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are always very sweet.
English: late harvest, dessert wine, sweet and medium on the front or back label; on sparkling wine, Extra Dry, Dry, Demi-sec and Doux.
Low alcohol: a white or rosé at around 10% or less often has unfermented grape sugar left in it, because yeast turns sugar into alcohol. Treat it as a clue, not a rule.
Taste scales: some back labels, especially on Riesling, print a simple scale from dry to sweet.
Quick rule: on a still wine, demi-sec means only off-dry. On a sparkling wine, demi-sec means properly medium-sweet.
What to eat with sweet wine
The golden rule is that the wine should be at least as sweet as the food. A sweet dessert makes a dry wine taste thin and sour, while a wine that is sweeter than the pudding stays balanced.
Fruit desserts: Moscato d'Asti or Demi-sec Champagne with a fruit tart, fresh berries or panettone.
Chocolate: Brachetto d'Acqui, Ruby Port or a sweet red blend with dark chocolate or a chocolate torte.
Salty cheese: Sauternes or Port with blue cheese. The salty and sweet contrast is one of the great classic pairings.
Spicy food: off-dry Riesling, Gewürztraminer or White Zinfandel with Thai food or a mild curry. A little sugar soothes chilli heat, while high alcohol tends to make it burn more.
Savoury snacks and starters: Lambrusco with cured meats or pizza, Sauternes with foie gras, and Prosecco Extra Dry with crisps or salted nuts.
Moscato d'Asti is often the easiest first sweet wine: it is fruity, gently fizzy and usually only around 5 to 6% alcohol. German Riesling Kabinett is a good choice if you want something less sweet, and Lambrusco Amabile is a friendly medium-sweet red. Start with off-dry or medium-sweet styles, then try fully sweet dessert wines such as Sauternes or Ruby Port once you know what you like.
What is the best sweet red wine for beginners?
Lambrusco Amabile and Brachetto d'Acqui are the easiest sweet reds for beginners. Both are lightly sparkling, low in tannin, fruity and served cool. Bottles labelled sweet red blend are another easy and widely sold option. For a richer, stronger dessert red, try Ruby Port, which is around 19 to 22% alcohol, so a small glass is plenty.
Is rosé wine sweet?
Most rosé is dry, especially the pale styles from Provence. Some pink wines are made sweet on purpose, though. White Zinfandel from California and Rosé d'Anjou from the Loire Valley are usually off-dry to medium-sweet, and pink Moscato is usually sweeter still. If a rosé label shows a low alcohol figure, around 10% or less, it often has some sweetness left in it.
Is Moscato sweet?
Yes, most wine sold as Moscato is sweet. Moscato d'Asti from Italy is sweet, gently sparkling and usually around 5 to 6% alcohol, and the Moscatos from California or Australia are usually medium-sweet to sweet. The Muscat grape behind them can also make dry wine, so a bottle labelled Muscat from Alsace, for example, may well be dry. Check the label for words such as dolce or sweet.
What are some sweet wine names to ask for?
Useful sweet wine names include Moscato d'Asti, Asti, Riesling Spätlese or Auslese, Vouvray moelleux, White Zinfandel, Rosé d'Anjou, Lambrusco Amabile or Dolce, Brachetto d'Acqui, Demi-sec Champagne, Sauternes, Tokaji Aszú, ice wine, Port and Pedro Ximénez sherry. For a gentler touch of sweetness, ask for a Riesling Kabinett, a Vouvray demi-sec or a Prosecco labelled Extra Dry.
What are good semi-sweet wines for beginners?
Semi-sweet usually means off-dry to medium-sweet: noticeably fruity with some sugar, but not dessert-sweet. Good semi-sweet wines for beginners include German Riesling Kabinett, Gewürztraminer, White Zinfandel, Rosé d'Anjou, Lambrusco Amabile and Prosecco Extra Dry. They also work well with spicy food and salty snacks, because a little sugar softens chilli heat and balances salt.
Is this bottle sweet or dry?
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