Is Chardonnay Sweet? A Winemaker Answers Your Chardonnay Q&A

Chardonnay is (usually) a medium-bodied white wine found in a diverse range of styles from simple and fruit forward to coconut-vanilla-y and buttery – and everything in between. 

It is those in-between chardonnays that tend to be the most delicious, with wonderful texture, vibrant acidity and a harmonious fusion of hazelnut, white flowers, and minerality. The chardonnay grape is most closely associated with the great Grand Cru vineyards of Burgundy, where it still thrives today, from Cote de Beaune to Chablis to Champagne. 

Chardonnay is grown throughout the new world, too, from regions as diverse as Sonoma to South Africa. 

But despite all of the places where chardonnay grows well and all of the styles vinified from this noble grape, chardonnay is not typically characterized as a sweet wine. 

But, of course, it depends. 

Chardonnay grapes can be used to make dessert wines, as in a late harvest chardonnay. That kind of wine would definitely be sweet. After all, it’s supposed to be dessert. 

And to further complicate the discussion, from my winemaking perspective, your definition of “sweet” differs greatly from mine. Over the course of alcoholic fermentation, the grape sugars are consumed and converted to ethanol (“wine”). 

Once all the glucose and fructose are consumed, the wine is labeled “dry.” I suppose “dry” is the opposite of “sweet.” But to me, “dry” means less than 2 g/L of residual glucose and fructose, something we measure in a lab. 

Knowing (& confirming) that all of the grape sugar has been consumed means the wine is stable and less prone to spoilage. 

Furthermore, you can’t taste 2g/L as “sweet,” I promise. According to Andy Waterhouse, the taste threshold of fructose is 1.8 – 2.4 g/L (remember, we are below that threshold measuring both glucose and fructose), and the taste threshold for glucose is 3.6-12 g/L. 

And, to be frank, many (most?) shelf-stable wines are probably below the 2g/L glucose + fructose mark. I know mine is. Heck, even my 2021 Rockpile zin is down at 0.7 g/L glucose + fructose. (And as you know, zin is one heck of a beast to ferment to dryness). 

When I hear the word “sweet,” I think of sugary treats like jellybeans and cookies. I like sweet. Heck, I love sweet.  But not in my wine. That’s why most wines are fermented to dryness – for stability and for style. That said, some wine components might remind you of “sweet” without being grape sugars.

Don’t Confuse Fruit Forward with Sweet

Many styles of chardonnay are readily available to wine consumers. Some may smell like tree fruits (apples, pears), others like melon or peach. A chardonnay that smells or tastes like peaches may seem “sweet” due to its fruit-forward personality. 

But smelling like fruit or tasting like fruit is not the same thing as a wine having residual sugar. Many Burgundy-inspired but California-grown chardonnays are fermented in a barrel, at cooler fermentation temperatures, to inspire lovely aromas. 

This cooler-style fermentation promotes the formation of chemical compounds called “esters,” which can indeed be fruity. In fact, esters are widely recognized for their contribution to aromas in flowers and ripe fruit. But most of the esters in wine are produced during fermentation and aging, rather than being identifiable in the grape itself. 

That said, please remember that esters and fruity chemical compounds are not the same as “sweet.” 

Wines that are “sweet” are wines deliberately bottled with enough glucose or fructose that consumers can taste it. Sweet wines are either adulterated with back-sweetening after fermentation or suffer from incomplete fermentation. 

Neither is ideal. 

A wine that has been intentionally sweetened after fermentation (& before bottling) is exploiting our love for sugary foods, and that sugar addition may be covering for a fault (more on that later). A wine that failed to complete primary alcoholic fermentation and is bottled with leftover, unconsumed sugar is at risk for microbial spoilage. 

If you’re looking for chardonnay to enjoy with nibbles or with dinner tonight, you want a dry table wine with no residual sugar. “Sweet” wines pair poorly with most dinner entrees.

The Impact of Oak Barrels

Some oak barrels increase the perception of “sweetness.” 

Aging in oak barrels helps to soften wine’s pointy elbows, allows for a slow and steady small ingress of oxygen, and offers up wonderful aromatic notes that can enhance a wine’s sexiness and appeal. 

Some wine barrels infuse notes of coconut, vanilla, spices, and caramel. Those adjectives could make you think of sweet. When you smell them, your mouth may even begin to water as you think about cookies fresh from the oven. 

Think of those yummy, warm gingerbread cookie spices. When you smell them together in a spice rack, you might imagine a sweet treat. But the spices themselves aren’t sweet. The spices do however enhance the perception of sweetness in the sugary cookie, creating a harmonious bite of deliciousness. 

Likewise, vanilla extract is not sweet. But adding vanilla extract to baked treats enhances the sweetness of your dessert, just as oak contributes to wine. This brings up another interesting point about sweetness – your chardonnay should taste harmonious, with each wine component supporting the others.

Chardonnay is Complex

Chardonnay is a complex matrix that includes ethanol, acids, mannoproteins, tannins, and innumerable chemical compounds. And each influences the other. For example, alcohol can increase the perception of sweetness. 

And having (or adding) residual sugar can help tame the gritty sensation of harsh, drying tannins. High acidity might increase the bitterness of some tanning compounds, and residual grape sugars can tame unrelenting acidity. 

Think of those high acid German beauties, grapevines grown at the edge of “too cold to fully ripen.” Even dry (“troken”) wines can have up to 9 g/L residual sugar. This may sound like a lot since I already told you that your typical chardonnay has less than 2 g/L residual sugar. 

But remember, with wine, the answer is always “it depends.” German wines can be so high in acid that some residual sugar is required for balance and harmony. (Plus, with that high acid and low pH, spoilage organisms stand no chance). California offers up ample sunshine, so too much acidity is rarely an issue for our chardonnay. 

However, understanding how all wine matrix components are interconnected in your nose and on your palate is a concept to remember. 

Your chardonnay is not sweet – but fruity esters, oak barrel aromatics, and the balanced dance between them might offer an impression of “sweetness.” But that sensation of sweet is NOT the same thing as residual sugar. 

To find the style of chardonnay that best suits your palate, try uncorking and tasting bottles from around the world. Try chardonnay labeled “unoaked” and compare it to chardonnay aged in some new oak. 

Different styles of chardonnay pair better with different foods.  Experiment. Have fun. No other grape is as dizzyingly diverse and delicious as chardonnay.

Your Questions Answered

“Is chardonnay a sweet tasting wine?"

Maybe. It depends. 

Chardonnay might taste sweet due to factors other than sugar. For example, chardonnay might seem sweet due to fruitiness or the impact of oak barrels. 

But unless your chardonnay is labeled “late harvest,” it’s probably not actually “sweet.” Most food friendly bottles of chardonnay are fermented to completion and have no leftover sugar in the bottle. 

"Is chardonnay sweeter than pinot grigio?"

Both chardonnay and pinot grigio are typically fermented to dryness. Neither is known as “sweet” wines. Chardonnay is usually more full-bodied, textured, and interesting than pinot grigio, though. (Full disclosure: As a pinot-centric winemaker I am biased in favor of pinot noir. Also, I’m not Italian).

"Is chardonnay sweet like moscato?"

Nope. Moscato is crafted to be “off-dry” by design. Fermentation stops before all of the sugar is consumed, leaving leftover glucose and fructose, hence the term “residual” (i.e. leftover) sugar. The Moscato grape is known for redolent floral notes like orange blossom and rose, which compliment and enhance the perception of sweetness. In contrast, most chardonnays are fermented to dryness, so there is no leftover sugar.  Chardonnay is not sweet like Moscato.

Before You Go….

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Sources

Waterhouse Understanding Wine Chemistry,Wiley 2016

Jackson Wine Tasting a Professional Handbook, Elsevier, 2002