Sweet wine has been made in various wine regions for a long time. Its style is largely influenced by the production method - when the grapes are picked, how the sugar is retained and how the wine is matured. Each region may have its own rules regulating its production. Whatever production style it adopts, the most important element of sweet wine is to strike a balance between sugar, alcohol, acidity, and tannin.

Sugar in Late Harvest wine is concentrated by leaving the grapes on vines to dry. The fruits are healthy, over-ripe with rich texture and dried-fruit mouthfeel. Late Harvest wine is common in Alsace, Austria and Germany. Sugar can also be concentrated by drying grapes under the sun or on a straw mat after harvest, as in the case of Italian Vin Santo or Austrian Strohwein. The grapes dehydrate and develop raisiny character, and the wine is usually aged in casks to develop the oxidative nutty characters.

Ice wine concentrates the juice by freezing the grapes on vines. The grapes must be healthy to preserve the primary fruit flavor. They are picked at -8ºC and pressed immediately so the water crystals remain in the press, resulting in very concentrated juice with high sugar content and acidity. It has intense pure fruit flavor and its high acidity makes it refreshing to drink. It is a common style of wine in cold countries such as Canada, Germany and Austria.

Sauternes is the most representative of sweet wine made from botrytis grapes. The mold reacts with the components in the grapes leading to the change of flavor profile to honey, marzipan and dried fruit characters. The grapes are left on vines to shrivel further concentrating the flavor. General profile of botrytised wine is of dried fruits, honey, and prune. It is made all over the world, including Monbazillac, Germany, Austria, and New Zealand.

Port is made in Douro Valley but port-style ports, including single quinta and vintage, are bottled after only 2 to 3 years in casks and can develop in bottles for 10 to 20+ years. Vintage port has 20 to 21% alcohol and has rich fruit flavors when young. Tawny port, having spent 10 to 40 years in casks before blending and bottling, is balanced by acidity rather than tannins. It is soft with complex oxidative aromas of walnut and coffee.

Many consumers often have this love-hate relationship with sweet wine. They love it but never buy it. Most of them are unsure when or during what occasions to enjoy it. In fact, sweet wine has every right to be on dinner tables and to be served with main meals. Chinese food is diverse with a wide array of aromas and flavors that go well with an equally wide range of wine including sweet wines. We don’t have a wine drinking history like the Europeans so we can be creative rather than restricting only white or red wine on dinner tables. We drink sweet lemon tea and soft drinks with food so why can't we can have a sweet wine to go along with our dinner?

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A marketer turned winemaker, Tersina's mission is to promote a stronger wine culture in Hong Kong and China, explaining wine in a no-nonsense way.

This post was created by a Jubee contributor. Views represented are not affiliated with Jubee.