What is a dry wine
Have you ever wondered what it means when someone describes a wine as dry? No, it doesn’t have anything to do with the use of moisturizing lotion on the grape skins! Technically, a dry wine is a description of the low amount of residual sugar in a wine. Residual sugar is typically measured in grams of sugar per liter. It can occasionally be found on a bottle label or at the website of a winery in their description of a wine. Sugar is present in a wine from either the natural occurrence in the grapes (particularly when harvested late to increase the amount of sugar) or can be introduced during the wine making process. Sweetness of a wine is normally labeled dry, medium-dry, medium-sweet and sweet. Sparkling wines have another set of labels which will be a future post. (Hint: Extra Dry doesn’t mean what you might logically conclude it to be!)
Dry wine is food friendly
Choosing a dry wine or a sweet wine can be a crucial step for matching the wine to your palate and is very important when pairing with food. For most dishes dry wines are food friendly. Sweet wines are usually consumed with spicy dishes (where the sugar can help reduce the fire) and with desserts (hence the term dessert wine). I recommend comparing some wines of similar type and from the same region that have different levels of residual sugar to get a feel for what matches your own palate.
When is a dry wine not dry
How dry or sweet a wine tastes is not just a function of the residual sugar level. The acidity level, alcohol level, tannins and bubbles can affect the flavor. For example, dry wine can taste sweet if the alcohol is high and because we are accustom to the sweetness of many fruits a fruity dry wine may taste sweet also. A more common occurrence is that a sweet wine can actually taste dry due to the balance provided by a high acidity level. This is often the case in good white wines.
Dry red wine, Dry white wine, Dry rose wine
Numerous grape varieties can be made into a dry, medium dry, medium sweet or sweet wine. However not all are good so some are typically only produced in one style. However, some varieties are produced in all styles so it can be very important to look for indications on the labels. For example, Vouvray wines made from the Chenin Blanc grape can be Sec (dry) all the way to Doux (Sweet).
Some typical dry white wines are Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Rieslings and Albarino. Some typical dry red wines are Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon when not over-extracted and when high in tannins. What varietals do you find make good dry wine?
