Wine Sweetness Chart: Dry to Sweet, Every Style
Wine sweetness is measured by residual sugar (RS) in grams per litre. It runs on a scale from bone dry (0–1 g/L) through dry, off-dry, and medium-sweet, up to lusciously sweet dessert wines (120+ g/L). The scale for sparkling wine is different, running from Brut Nature to Doux.
A wine's sweetness comes down to one thing: how much sugar is left in the bottle once fermentation stops. Everything else — acidity, tannin, fruit ripeness, oak — changes how sweet a wine tastes without changing the actual sugar number. This chart lays out the real scale, with example wines at every level.
Further reading
- Check out the most delicious Sweet White Wines in the world!
- Explore these sumptuous Sweet Red Wines for your next dessert adventure.
The Still Wine Sweetness Scale
| Bone Dry | 0–1 g/L | Muscadet, dry Sherry, most Champagne Brut Nature |
|---|---|---|
| Dry | 1–10 g/L | Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir |
| Off-Dry | 10–35 g/L | German Kabinett Riesling, some Vouvray, Gewürztraminer |
| Medium-Sweet | 35–65 g/L | Demi-Sec Champagne, Moscato d'Asti, White Zinfandel |
| Sweet | 65–120 g/L | Late-harvest Riesling, Sauternes, standard Port |
| Lusciously Sweet | 120+ g/L | Tokaji Eszencia, Trockenbeerenauslese, PX Sherry |
Sparkling Wine Runs on a Different Scale
Sparkling wine sweetness is measured the same way (grams of sugar per litre) but labelled with its own terminology, and confusingly, the numbers don't line up with still wine at the same descriptive level:
- Brut Nature / Brut Zero: 0–3 g/L — bone dry, no dosage added
- Extra Brut: 0–6 g/L
- Brut: 0–12 g/L — the most common style, including most Champagne
- Extra Dry: 12–17 g/L — despite the name, sweeter than Brut
- Sec: 17–32 g/L
- Demi-Sec: 32–50 g/L
- Doux: 50+ g/L — genuinely sweet, rare today
Why Two Wines With the Same Sugar Can Taste Different
Sweetness perception isn't purely about the residual sugar number. Acidity is the biggest counterbalance — a high-acid wine can carry significantly more sugar before it tastes cloying, which is exactly why the greatest dessert wines (like Sauternes and Tokaji) pair extreme sugar with equally extreme acidity to stay balanced rather than syrupy. Tannin, alcohol level, and fruit ripeness also shift how sweet a wine tastes on the palate, independent of the actual sugar content.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the driest style of wine?
Bone Dry wines have essentially no perceptible residual sugar (0–1 g/L) — examples include Muscadet, dry Fino Sherry, and Brut Nature Champagne.
Is Riesling always sweet?
No — this is one of the most common misconceptions in wine. Riesling ranges across the entire scale, from bone-dry German Trocken to lusciously sweet Trockenbeerenauslese. Always check the label or producer style rather than assuming.
What's the sweetest wine in the world?
Tokaji Eszencia from Hungary and German Trockenbeerenauslese sit at the extreme sweet end, with residual sugar sometimes exceeding 450–800 g/L in the case of Eszencia. See our Tokaji investment guide for more on this remarkable category.
For a deeper look at sweet wine styles and specific bottle recommendations, see our complete guide to sweet wine.
Post updated August 2026 by the Vinovest editorial team.
