Maize Valley Market & Winery

Maize Valley Sweet Wines

A wine is rendered sweet due to its residual sugar (RS) content. When grapes are brought in from harvest they are crushed and then put through fermentation. During fermentation the sugar is converted to alcohol by yeast. If fermentation is halted prior to complete conversion from sugar to alcohol, some of the sugar will reside in the wine, hence the term "residual sugar." Obviously, the more residual sugar in a wine, the sweeter the wine will be.  You can also add sugar back in to achieve the desired RS and to properly balance the sweet wine in respect to its acid content and other factors as well.

Please note "sweetness" can be very subjective. Saying to less seasoned wine drinkers some wines that are not considered "dry" may not be sweet enough for their liking and to many veteran wine drinkers wines that are considered sweet or even "off dry" are not to their liking. For most people the longer you drink wine your tastes tend to change and evolve toward dryer wines with time.

An example might be the first two wines below may not be considered sweet to some but to move them off the list would not be right either because they are not considered dry either. Check out the many sweet wines that we offer below.

La Crescent - Fruity, tropical aromas and flavors.  La Crescent is from our own vineyards ($16.99 / bottle or $6 / glass).

Vignoles - A delightful sensation of lush ripe tropical fruit balanced by a crisp acidity. This off-dry wine pairs well with spicy foods or sushi. 

Summer Fling - A delicious blend of white wine made from Vidal grapes with our home grown Red Raspberry wine. Summer Fling is a summer day in every bottle.

Hanky Panky Pink – This sweet wine is slightly sweetened by the Catawba grape. 

Mad Cow - Sweet with fresh grapey aroma. 

The two wines below are different from the ones listed above because of a higher alcohol content and tend to be produced from grape with more complex flavor profiles than many sweet wines.

Chambourcin Port - This is a delicious, sweet, port style dessert wine with hints of coffee, berry fruits, and chocolate. On-premise consumption is limited to glass sales only.
       

Little Red Pecker - Also a port style wine, made from the Frontenac grapes which are from the Maize Valley Vineyard. This sweet wine has lush shades of cherry, raspberry and black currant, with chocolate undertones.