Many wine drinkers may confuse the taste sensations of sweet and fruity. While our brain naturally associates fruit aromas and flavors with sweetness, they are often not directly associated with each other when it comes to wine.

“Fruity” is a term that gets used to describe a wine that has pronounced flavors or aromas of fruits. With wines, you may experience aromas and flavors of citrus (lemon, lime, orange), orchard fruits (apples, pears), stone fruits (apricots, peaches, plums), tropical fruits (pineapple, mango), red fruits (strawberries, cherries, cranberries, raspberries), or dark fruits (blackberries, blueberries, black currant). These wine flavors and aromas may be processed and interpreted as being “sweet.” But, fruity wines aren’t necessarily sweet. Sauvignon Blanc is a good example. While it offers bright fruit flavors of grapefruit, lime, pear and peach, it is typically low in residual sugar.

For a wine to be sweet, it must have residual sugars (RS). That is, sugar that is intentionally left in the juice that doesn’t get converted to alcohol during fermentation. The categories of wine sweetness include “Dry” (1-10 g/L RS), “Off Dry” (10-35 g/L RS), “Sweet” (35-120 g/L RS) and “Very Sweet” (120+ g/L RS).

Most wines on the store shelf are “Dry” but if you’re looking for sweeter white wines look for Kabinett or Spätlese Riesling, Chenin Blanc or Gewürztraminer. Lambrusco is a sweeter, sparkling red wine. Sweeter red wines, by brand, include Ménage á Trois Red (12 g/L RS), Apothic Red (15 g/L RS), Cocobon Red Blend (12 g/L RS), Yellow Tail Shiraz (12 g/L RS) and Jam Jar (57 g/L RS).

So, don’t be fooled. “Fruity” wine traits don’t necessarily mean it’s a sweet wine. Cheers!