CorkonomicsThe economics of wine production, collection, and vineyards
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Vineyard land · Pauillac≈$2,798,250 a hectare▼ down 17% on 20232024Opening price · Château Lafite Rothschild 2025≈$376 a bottle▲ up 17% on the year beforeSold at auction · Romanée-Conti Grand Cru, DRC 2019$22,917 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Burgundy grand cru (Pinot Noir)$48–283US duty on wine from · Canada+50%since Aug 2026Everyday bottle in a US shop$13.77 a litre▼ down 1.3% in a yearSep 2026Vineyard land · Margaux≈$1,567,020 a hectare▼ down 7% on 20232024Opening price · Château Cheval Blanc 2025≈$376 a bottle▲ up 22% on the year beforeSold at auction · La Tâche Grand Cru, DRC 2018$5,417 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Champagne prestige cuvée$26–89US duty on wine from · Australia+12.5%since Jul 2026Vineyard land · Côte-Rôtie≈$1,511,055 a hectare▲ up 8% on 20232024Opening price · Château Mouton Rothschild 2025≈$336 a bottle▲ up 19% on the year beforeSold at auction · Richebourg Grand Cru, DRC 2012$3,542 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Bordeaux classified growth (2nd–5th)$17–61US duty on wine from · New Zealand+12.5%since Jul 2026Vineyard land · Côte de Nuits grand cru≈$7,275,450 a hectare2019Opening price · Château Palmer 2025≈$268 a bottle▼ down 19% on the year beforeVineyard land · Pomerol≈$2,238,600 a hectare2023
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New to wine? Start with the short lessons, then look up any word you do not know.

Learn · Wine words · Your saved pages

Sweet wine

Wine that keeps some of the grape's natural sugar. Rich, golden and served in small glasses, often at the end of a meal.

A small glass of deep golden sweet wine beside blue cheese, dried apricots and walnuts

Sweet wine keeps some of the grape’s own sugar. Growers get there by picking very late, by letting the grapes shrivel on the vine, or by stopping the fermentation early.

Tastes of
Honey, apricot, orange peel
Serve
Chilled, in a small glass
Good with
Blue cheese, fruit tarts, pâté, or on its own instead of dessert

The best have enough acidity to balance the sugar, so they taste rich but not sticky.

Start with a late-harvest Riesling. Lovely with blue cheese.

Shrivelled golden grapes left late on the vine among autumn leaves
Grapes left on the vine until they shrivel. Less water, more sugar.

A grape that makes great sweet wine

All grapes

Riesling

Say it: REES-ling

The zingy, perfumed white. It comes bone dry, lusciously sweet and everything in between.

  • Lime
  • Green apple
  • Peach

Where the famous sweet wines come from

All regions
Germany

Mosel

Featherlight Riesling from dizzyingly steep slopes.

 France

Bordeaux

The home of the classic red blend.

Famous sweet wines

Château d'YquemChâteau d'YquemBordeauxThe ScharzhofEgon Müller, Scharzhofberger Riesling AusleseMoselVineyard view at Wiltingen, SaarEgon Müller, Scharzhofberger Riesling TrockenbeerenausleseMoselWehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard, Riesling, Mosel, WehlenJoh. Jos. Prüm, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling AusleseMosel

The other four types

The five types of wine
A glass of red wine on a dark wooden table

Red

Made from dark grapes, with the skins left in the juice. The skins give the colour and that dry, grippy feeling called tannin.

 A glass of white wine on a sunlit stone table

White

Made from the juice alone, without the skins, so it stays pale and fresh. Usually lighter and crisper than red.

 Two glasses of rosé on a picnic blanket

Rosé

Dark grapes, but the skins are left in for only a few hours. Just long enough to turn the wine pink.

 A glass of sparkling wine with rising bubbles

Sparkling

Wine with bubbles. The fizz comes from a second fermentation that traps gas in the bottle. Champagne is the most famous.