The 10 Best Sweet Red Wines to Drink (2024)

Region: Veneto, Italy | ABV: 14% | Tasting Notes: Plum, Tobacco, Chocolate

From vineyards rooted in chalky-clay soils outside the town of Tregnago, about an hour and a half west of Venice, Italy, comes this ultra-rare passito from Dal Forno. In fact, in three decades, the wine has only been produced six times. Made in the tiniest of quantities, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one of the most profound sweet wines you’ll ever encounter.

Corvina grapes are used to make the bulk of this wine, along with 15% rondinella, 20% croatina, and 10% oseleta that are then aged for 36 months in oak. The result is rich and decadent, with sweet red-berry fruit, red licorice, crushed stones, and brown sugar-coated candied violets. All this is framed by juicy and brisk acidity, giving freshness to this wine that defies gravity.

Region: Paso Robles, Calif. | ABV: 17% | Tasting Notes: Raisin, Date, Spice

Winemakers Tobin James and Lance Silver have honed in on the style of the rich vineyards of Paso Robles, Calif. with this sweet and spicy zinfandel. Their tasting room is something of a Paso Robles hub for seekers of quality wine. That jovial spirit is captured in this bottle.

There are notes of plum, blueberry, dark chocolate, raisin, and spice. This wine is not too sweet, with vibrant acidity and gentle tannins. This pairs well with barbecue chicken wings or General Tso’s chicken.

Region: Paso Robles, Calif. | ABV: 15% | Tasting Notes: Prune, Fig, Spiced Tea

Winemaker Philip Togni is a legend in the field, and this organic dessert wine is produced from his own harvest of rare and fully ripened black hamburg grapes. This bottle is inspired by constantia, the famed South African dessert wine, but Togni gives it his own Napa Valley spin for a truly exquisite tasting experience.

Floral aromas flood the nose with prune, fig, and black cherry following suit. Chocolate and spiced tea notes on the palate are supported by a kiss of acidity. The finish lingers like a chatty houseguest, but in a good way.

Related: The Best Sweet Wines

Region: Douro, Portugal | ABV: 20% | Tasting Notes: Black tea, Quince, Licorice, Mahogany

Port, the sweet fortified wine that’s long been the standard-bearer of the Portuguese wine industry, comes in many styles—including some meant to be consumed young and others intended for prolonged aging. Hailing from a winery that dates back to the mid-1500s, the 2017 Capela from Quinta de Vesuvio is a vintage port that fits squarely into the latter category: many industry experts recommend holding off on cracking open this bottle until 2030, and others predict that it will continue to improve for an additional two or three decades after that.

Clearly, this isn’t a maybe-we’ll-drink-it-this-Tuesday bottle, but those with a generation’s worth of patience will be rewarded with gorgeous aromas of black tea, lavender, blueberry, and quince. The palate is jam-packed with attractive notes of berry, licorice, and mahogany that will only become more elegant with additional years of aging. Make a memo to yourself to pair this well-structured stunner with rich meats and cheeses when you open it in ten years or more.

Region: Piemonte, Italy | ABV: 7% | Tasting Notes: Raspberry, Strawberry, Rose petal

From Piemonte's Acqui region comes this elegant and romantic sparkling red from Banfi’s award-winning lineup. Though Banfi’s innovations in clonal research and the accolades of their longtime winemaker Rudy Buratti are impressive, we especially love this bottle's candy red color.

Still, don’t let its looks distract you from the excellent aromatics of raspberry, cranberry, chocolate, and rose petal. Dry with scintillating acidity, serve this chilled lest you serve it incorrectly.

Related: The Best Italian Wines

Region: Pfalz, Germany | ABV: 11.5% | Tasting Notes: Cherry, Vanilla, Spice

The dark-skinned dornfelder variety is known for being a distinctively German grape that can reach its full potential in the advantageously mild climate of the country’s south-western Pfalz region (affectionately known as the “Tuscany of Germany”). The Anselmann estate that operates in this region happens to be one of the best around and this bottle is only one of the reasons why.

Deep red in color, the floral aromas are bolstered by dollops of cherry, raspberry, dark fruit, vanilla, and spice. This is a medium-bodied wine with a rich texture, mildly acidic, and truth be told, on the drier side of sweet.

Region: Peloponnese, Greece | ABV: 15% | Tasting Notes: Blackberry, Fig, Molasses

The Greeks are famous for inventing dramatic theater, so it only makes sense that they’d be able to produce such a dramatic wine full of sweet pathos. The Kourtakis family founded their winery back in 1895 and continues to be one of Greece’s most prominent winemakers.

Reminiscent of a fine port, this bottle is heavy on fig, raisin, and brown sugar. This also has a profound chocolate note which could help explain why it pairs so well with actual chocolate.

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Region: Paarl, South Africa | ABV: 12% | Tasting Notes: Blackberry, Blueberry, Chocolate

As their name might suggest, Jam Jar concocted this sweet shiraz with the direct aim of creating a quality sweet red. The shiraz fruit thrives in hot weather which makes their vineyards in South Africa’s Western Cape an ideal setting for proper grape-growing. As a bonus, this sweet wine has no added sugar.

This is a veritable medley of dark and red berries: blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and chocolate, which is not a berry but becomes an honorary berry in this wine. Bold, tannic, and fairly acidic, this makes a complimentary wine with savory steaks and pork dishes.

Region: Central Coast, Calif. | ABV: 12% | Tasting Notes: Cherry, Plum, Silky

With roots in northern Italy, California’s San Antonio Winery has been in operation by the Riboli family for over four generations. From grapes grown in the dry and warm climate of their Paso Robles appellation, this Cardinale red blend is about as sweet as a wine can get.

This is medium-bodied with notes of cherry and plum. Sweet like marmalade, this wine is smooth and reminiscent of a moscato. It is bold and bright with a short and pleasant finish.

Related: The Best Red Wines

Region: Emilia-Romagna, Italy | ABV: 8% | Tasting Notes: Strawberry, Floral, Cherry

As its name suggests, this wine from Botticello is a bonafide Italian doozy. And this one’s a northern Italian doozy, from the Emilia-Romagna region where sparkling red lambrusco is one of their specialties. Serve it chilled and alongside sliced prosciutto.

You’ll go “ooh” when it lands on your tongue and “ahh” as you gulp it down. Strawberry, raspberry, and floral aromas mingle with a smooth cherry flavor. Everything about this wine is pleasantly mild: mild tannins, mild acidity, mild sweetness, and a mild fizz. Despite the rampant mildness, this wine is nothing short of exceptional.