The sweetness of a wine is usually defined by the level of residual sugar. However, how sweet the wine will actually taste is also controlled by factors such as the acidity and alcohol levels, and the amount of tannins present.

The sweetness of a wine is usually defined by the level of residual sugar (RS) after the fermentation has complete. However, how sweet the wine will actually taste is also controlled by factors such as the acidity, alcohol levels, and the amount of tannins present. Sweet wines with high levels of acidity and/or tannins can seem dry while the apparent sweetness of a dry wine can be increased by having a higher alcohol level. Wines can be categorized by the amount of residual sugar in grams/liter as a percentage. The European Union has laid out the following:

Note: We’ve added an extra column for the Naked Winery definitions that seem to work best with regular folks like us. *It’s possible to add sugar to the wine must before fermentation (chaptalization) or after the wine has completed fermentation (sugar added). It is the opinion of Naked Wines that adding sugar to make up for un-ripened fruit or to make it taste sweeter is not wise.