Zinfandel is another sweet red wine option. It’s also high in acidity, meaning the wine’s residual sugars are well balanced. It boasts red fruit flavors, such as strawberry, blackberry, and rhubarb. Lambrusco is an Italian red wine that is considered semi-sweet. However, if you are on the hunt for a sweeter red wine to enjoy with your main meal, there are plenty that offer a more middle ground, like Lambrusco. These gorgeously sugar-heavy and decadent options - such as ruby Port, tawny Port, and Vin Santo Rosso from Italy - are perfect for those with a sweet tooth. Those in the first category are dessert wines.

Using grapes frozen on the vine, resulting in wine that has not had its natural sugars diluted.

Fermenting the wine with brandy, which creates the fortified wine Port.

Purposefully introducing noble rot to the grapes, a natural process which causes grapes to become sweeter.

Adding a sugar wine solution (called a dosage) between fermentations when producing sparkling wine.

Selecting “late harvest” grapes, which have been left to ripen on the vine (and in turn become sweeter).

Selecting grapes with higher sugar levels.

Purposefully halting the fermentation process early, so the yeast cannot convert so many sugars into alcohol.

There are other ways to make a sweeter wine. This means the yeast cannot convert all of the sugar to alcohol, resulting in a wine that’s higher in residual sugar. While the yeast will convert the majority of the grape sugar into alcohol, sometimes the sugar in the grapes is much higher, or winemakers choose to add additional sugar. However, during fermentation, winemakers add yeast, which converts these natural sugars into ethanol, aka alcohol. Residual sugar is a term in the wine world that refers to the amount of sugar present in a bottle of wine, once the wine is finished and ready for consumption.Īs we know grapes have a high sugar content, meaning all wine, no matter how dry, contains some naturally occurring sugars. The answer lies in the wine’s residual sugar. But how can this be when all wine is made by the fermentation of grape juice? Whether it’s just you and your latest streaming show or the entire family gathered around, the most important pairing for our Sweet Red: someone, or something, you love being around.While some wine is dry as a bone, other wines taste as sweet as a can of soda. Many of the spices that are used to craft these meats, like fennel, thyme, and oregano, create an intense flavor balanced by the gentleness of Sweet Red wine. Or, choose another heavily-cured meat topping. The softly sweet Concord grape that is the hallmark of Oliver Sweet Red Wine makes a great match for pizza's intensity.Ĭan't go wrong with a classic pepperoni slice. Surprised that a sweet wine can stand up to the spice? The more you know! If you're a semi-sweet wine lover, consider yourself officially part of the pizza + wine club.įor a go-to pizza pairing, we really love a wine with plenty of juicy, fruity flavors like Oliver Sweet Red.

The strong acidity of tomato-based pizza sauce, as well as the fat that’s produced by melty cheese, generally needs a red wine to balance the strong flavors and rich ingredients. You might think about dry red wines with tomato-based sauces and flavorful cheeses. From homemade to delivery, to frozen in your fridge, wine is pizza's perfect match.

Oliver sweet red wine