The 10 Best Sweet Red Wines to Have with Dessert

When it comes to wine, most people are either a "dry" person or a "sweet" person. I, personally, am usually placed squarely in the dry category. Most sweet wines are just a little too sweet for my taste—especially red and rosé varietals.

Lately though, I've had a couple of bottles that have really made me rethink the way that I see sweet reds. After sipping a glass after a decadent dessert, I started to realize that there's more to this kind of wine than I initially thought.

These sweet red wines, for example, are a wonderful pick for just about any person that wants to explore the world of dessert-style vino.

Blandy's makes some really great sweet red wines, especially when it comes to their heavily aged Madeiras. This is a sweet wine that really, truly emphasizes its sweetness—and it does it in a pretty damned nice way.

Drinking their 10-Year Madeira is a great way to top off the night with a strongly flavored wine. Pair it with a mellow vanilla ice cream, and you'll have a perfect balance of sweet and creamy. Yum!

A rich Chianti is always a great idea, especially when it's a specialty dessert wine. This wine is made through a unique process called appassimento. Appasimento uses dried out grapes to make the wine sweeter.

This wine, as you could expect, delivers a sugary punch that's unlike anything else you would ever find on the market. It's almost like drinking a smoky sweet wine!

If there is one category of sweet wines that seem to be perennially popular, it’s the tawny port family. These wines are known for being really, really sweet—and that’s actually the draw of them.

These wines pair incredibly well with chocolate, especially ones like Ferreira Tawny Port. The texture of this wine is silky, almost creamy. That makes it a perfect companion for one of the tastiest wine and chocolate pairings you'll ever get your tastebuds on.

This might not be totally red wine, but it’s actually the bottle that got me into sweet red wines as a whole. This is a red blend of Lambrusco and other sweets, mixed in with a sparkling wine.

The end result is a bright red, semi-sparkling wine that is just slightly sweet. It’s a perfect introduction to sweet wines for people who swear it’s “not their thing!”

Many people don't give red blends the credit they deserve, so hear me out. A good blend can bring out the subtle flavors that most "pure" varietals tend to overpower. They are also way more cost-effective than, say, a pure bottle of merlot, in most cases.

Barefoot makes one of the better sweet red blends on the market, and it works beautifully well with a nice bowl of berries or a decadent chocolate cake. Yum!

Fans who love "deep cut" varietals need to give a Brachetto a try. These sweet red wines hail from the Brachetto region of Italy and are famous for their excellent flavor. Unlike ports, these wines are not extremely sweet in taste.

These reds are often compared to Moscatos, in both flavor and texture, so you know you're in for a good experience if you're using this for wine and food pairings as a beginner. If you're a fan of Moscato, you'll probably find this bottle of Brachetto to be your new favorite red.

With its crimson color and its reputation for delivering a powerful punch, there's no denying that a rich ruby port will always be a favorite among sweet wine fans. Offley's Ruby Port is incredibly potent and matches very well with a bowl of fruit and a cigar.

This is a wine that will put hair on your chest. That being said, people who get overpowered by the sugars in sweet red wines might find this to be a bit too much.

There's nothing quite as satisfying as tasting a sweet wine that has a pointedly fruity flavor—and that's what makes Mauro wines such a great treat. These deep, ruby red wines are meant to bring out the berry flavors in its aromas.

The Mauro Molino Dolcetto's flavor is amazingly fruity, which makes it a perfect pairing for your favorite custards. If you love sweet wines with a full body, grab this bottle.

Castello Poggio Dolcetto Monf is one of those red wines that you whip out when you want to impress guests. It's elegant in both bottle and bouquet. This extremely dark yet sweet red wine has a very wine-y taste, without the cloying syrupy texture others have.

Though it's dry-ish, it's definitely got its sweet points. It's a good "starter" dessert wine.

Veuve Cliquot makes sweet red wines! Did you know that? Up until recently, I didn't—and holy cannoli, was I missing out. Their demi-sec sweet wines are based off blends of Pinot Noir, and they just taste phenomenal.

As the name suggests, this wine isn't entirely sweet. So, if you want to have a red wine to pair with Italian food that doesn't totally overpower your tastebuds, try out a Veuve Cliquot.