Sweetness is found in many foods and wines. Sometimes we do not really think of certain types of sauces or foods as "sweet" when in actuality they are, such as teriyaki, cocktail sauce and other tomato sauces. Often vegetables and certainly fruits can add a degree of sweetness to a dish and must be considered when making a wine selection. When food is sweet it will suppress the sweetness of a wine served with it, an example of sensory adaptation.

There are a wide range of sweetness levels in many beverages and foods. Our individual palates will dictate the desirable level of sweetness. This is expressed in many ways: how we take our coffee or tea, what kind of chocolate we like, or the balance we prefer in a wine, for example. One person's perfect sweetness might be too sweet for someone else.

How well a wine and food go together from a sweetness perspective therefore depends to a certain extent on the individual. A combination that includes acidic food, raising the sweetness of a wine, may be delicious to someone who appreciates a sweeter wine, but the same combination might not work for someone who prefers a drier wine.