Did you know that… Red wine is the most consumed type of wine in the world? However, not all red wines are created equal. There are some red wines that are dry and others that are sweet.
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It is important to note that the latter do not have added sugar; sweet red wines are known as such because they contain a significant amount of sugar from the grape itself, also known as residual sugar.
Within the wide variety of red wines, there are some that are more famous, which is why today we are going to be talking about the most consumed red wines in Mexico and some characteristics that make them unique, so if you are interested in knowing which are the most popular sweet red wines, keep reading.
How is a sweet red wine made?
First of all, let's talk about how red wine is made . As we know , wine is a fermented drink , and this is achieved thanks to yeast. Yeasts are microorganisms that are responsible for transforming the sugar in fruits into alcohol.
However, the type of red wine we end up with will depend on the process followed by the yeasts . For example, when the yeasts consume all the available sugar, the result will be a dry red wine. If fermentation is interrupted before the yeasts complete their cycle, then the red wine will be sweet and with a moderate amount of alcohol.
Most famous sweet wines in Mexico
Now that you know a little about how sweet red wines originate , let's talk about the most consumed wines in Mexico .
1.- The sweet Italian red wine called Lambrusco
This is one of the best-known sweet red wines, its name comes from the type of grape, in this case Lambrusco, which is produced in four areas of the region known as Emilia-Romagna and one in Lombardy.
This grape is very old, before the founding of the Roman Empire, the area was inhabited by the Etruscan civilization and it is believed that it was already cultivated. Today, in Italy, there are Denomination of Origin (DO) rules, which help regulate the quality of wines.
In the case of Lambrusco , it can be produced by different regions, which have a Controlled Denomination of Origin (DOC) such as: Parma Lambrusco, Lambrusco Grasparossa Castelvetro, Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Reggiano Lambrusco, Colli di Scandiano e Canossa Lambrusco, Módena Lambrusco and Lambrusco Mantovano.
Although many people discredit it for its sweetness, the reality is that there is a regulatory council that oversees the quality and the sweet red wine that is produced is made with strict quality controls.
2.- The highest quality sweet wine is not a red wine
A high-quality sweet wine is Ice Wine , which is almost never made from red grapes. The aforementioned sweet red wine is made from white grapes.
In cold countries like Germany, Austria and Canada, ice wine is made . It is called this because the grapes are not harvested when they reach maturity, but a few weeks later, when they begin to dehydrate and turn into raisins. When the first snow falls, they are frozen and harvested just like that. At dawn and when the temperature is between -10 and 0 ºC, they are harvested and taken to the winery.
This causes all the grape nectar to be concentrated to produce a very prestigious and also expensive sweet wine. It is generally sold in 375 ml bottles. The reason it is made from white grapes is because they tend to be more acidic and this balances the sweetness on the palate.
3.- The wine of kings and king of wines
A very well-known wine around the world, although little known in Mexico, is the Tokaji (pronounced tokay) from Hungary. It is so valued that it even forms part of a verse of the national anthem of that country.
Unlike the previous wines, it is not made by interrupting fermentation or harvesting frozen grapes. In fact, it is a sweet wine produced from grapes that have been attacked by a disease called Botrytis cinerea or noble rot. This concentrates sugars and, depending on the amount of botrytized grapes added to the base white wine, the level of sweetness achieved will depend on it.
4.- The sweet red wine of travelers
Finally, we will mention another category of sweet red wines that are made from fortification or the addition of wine alcohol to interrupt fermentation. The most common name for these sweet red wines is Oporto and it is made in Portugal in the area of the same name.
By adding alcohol (produced from distilled wine), the percentage of alcohol is increased and the yeast is eliminated. In this way, the grape juice retains some of the residual sugar from the grape and will finally reach around 20% alcohol.
It is also known as the wine of travelers because the reason for carrying out this process of adding alcohol was to make it better withstand trips around the world without the wine spoiling.
As you can see, wine holds secrets preserved by history, traditions and of course consumers who enjoy a good red wine that can sometimes be sweet.
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