Which Types Of Wine Have The Least Amount Of Sugar? - Tasting Table

"It's because most of the sugar in the grapes used to make wine becomes alcohol, with the sugar leftover referred to as "residual sugar" in wine tasting and wine making circles. When there's a lot of sugar leftover, there tends to be less alcohol, while stronger wines are often dry and low in residual sugar (this is just a rule of thumb, and there are exceptions like dessert wines, so don't assume something sweet is weak)."

"Unsurprisingly, wines that taste sweet also tend to be higher in sugar (up to 30 grams per liter), while dry wines are the lowest sugar options (up to 10 grams per liter). High-sugar wines include dessert wines and ports, as well as heavy reds that some people might describe as jammy. Cheaper (mass produced) wines also contain relatively high levels of residual sugar. If you're partial to a bone dry tempranillo or cab sauv, you're in luck."

"This is complicated in the US, however, where people tend to consider wines dry when most drinkers (and experts) would place them closer to medium on the dry-to-sweet scale. This is because people aren't great at tasting sugar. The more sugar we have in our diets the more our taste buds are dulled to sweetness. Checking sugar levels via a tech sheet produced by the vineyard is the best way to be sure of how much sugar you're getting."

Most sugar in grapes ferments into alcohol, leaving a leftover called residual sugar measured in grams per liter. Higher residual sugar usually corresponds with lower alcohol, while stronger wines tend to be drier and lower in residual sugar. Sweet-tasting wines, including dessert wines, ports, and jammy heavy reds, can reach up to 30 g/L; dry wines typically register up to 10 g/L. Cheaper mass-produced wines often have relatively high residual sugar. American drinkers commonly misjudge dryness because dietary sugar dulls sweetness perception. Dividing grams-per-liter by 10 gives an approximate sweetness percentage. Vineyard tech sheets provide accurate sugar levels.

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