Originally Posted by
bhrubin
The chaptalization adding of sugar during fermentation doesn't increase sweetness; it increases the alcohol content.
This is a common technique used in cooler grape growing regions like Burgundy and Oregon. Warmer grape growing regions have no need for this, typically, since grapes in such areas are far more likely to ripen and contain sufficient sugars for fermentation into alcohol. That's one reason why wines from California and Australian are so much higher in alcohol.
Chaptalization is SUPPOSED to add alcohol, not sweetness, but occasionally, the fermentation gets stuck and it ends up making the wine sweet and lousy. Of course nobody in Burgundy has ever sold a bottle of mediocre adulterated plonk under the guise of it being an expensive Grand Cru Classe. They would much rather pour it down the drain than sell it for hundreds of dollars a bottle to unsuspecting folks in far off lands.