Editing Dessert wine (section)

==Natural sweetness==
[[Image:Late harvest Semillon.jpg|thumb|upright|A late harvest Semillon from Washington State.]]
In the absence of other techniques, makers of dessert wine have to produce their sugar in the vineyard. Some grape varieties, such as [[Muscat (grape and wine)|Muscat]], Ortega and [[Huxelrebe]], naturally produce much more sugar than others. Environmental conditions have a big effect on ultimate sugar levels; the [[vigneron]] can help by leaving the grapes on the vine until they are [[fully ripe (wine)|fully ripe]], and by green harvesting and pruning to expose the young grapes to the sun. Green harvesting reduces the number of bunches on a vine early in the summer, so that the sugar production of the leaves is divided between fewer bunches. While the vigneron cannot control the sun, a sunny year regulates sugar levels. The semi-sweet Auslese wines in the [[German wine classification]] are probably the best example of this approach; most modern winemakers perceive that their customers want either fully dry or 'properly' sweet dessert wines, so 'leave it to nature' is currently out of fashion. But most of the Muscats of ancient times were probably made this way, including the famous [[Constantia (wine)|Constantia]] of South Africa.