Dry Wines, Sweet Wines – What are the Differences?

Dry white wines and red wines are commonly requested at retailers and restaurants alike. Most wine aficionados are usually willing to pass up on the sweet wines of the world, particularly sweet reds and whites, for the total-palate pleasing texture of dry wines. Whilst the majority of both white and red wines come in dry-styles, there’s numerous factors that define how effectively dry wines display themselves on the palate.

Sweet Wine Vs Dry Wine

The term “dry” with regards to wine may seem a little confusing initially, wine is a liquid made mostly of water after all, so then what does “dry” actually mean for wines? When a wine is referred to as dry, it essentially means that it is “not sweet”. In wine terminology dry describes a wine that is the opposite of sweet. Even so, sweet is a genuine taste which your taste buds can quantify, dry describes more of a textural and tactile phenomenon perceived by the palate.

Fermenting Factors: What determines a wine as dry or sweet?

So how do wine makers establish how dry or sweet a wine is? It is during the fermenting process, where a grape’s sugar content is transformed into alcohol. Should a vintner want to create a dry wine, then he/she allows the fermenting process run through to completion, fully transforming all the sugar into alcohol. If a winemaker is aiming for a sweet or semi-sweet (off-dry) wine, then he/she will cut the fermenting process short. There’s 2 ways that a winemaker can shorten fermentation. The first is putting the brakes on fermentation by turning down the heat, to slow things. Fermentation requires a consistent, warm environment, when temperatures fall so does the rate that sugars turn into alcohol. The second method to stop fermentation short, is by adding more alcohol, a technique called fortification. If a wines fermentation process if brought to an early finish, the non-converted sugars (termed “residual sugars”) stay with the wine to create a sweeter taste.

Dry Wine Detection

2 aspects play a fundamental part in the palate’s perception of what is “dry” in a wine. They are tannins and acidity. Even though acidity is present in both white and red wines, it presents easier in white wines. It’s initially detected through salivation. When you taste the first sip of white wine with a decent acid base (test a Sauvignon Blanc for instance), you mouth will start to water immediately. With red wines that have a decent tannin content, the mouth drys out a little with the first taste. Both acidity and tannin structures of wines speak “dry” to the palate. As a side note, tannins are antioxidants that produce the health benefit of wine.

Dry Wines and the Fruit Factor

When people refer to the fruit character of a wine, they are actually referring to the secondary aromatic flavors of wine. The distinctive fruity qualities of wines, from the lightest to the most lush, from the mango to citrus of white wine, and the fig-like to cherry properties of red wine, is what is behind the “fruit factor” of wine. However, it is important to state that the acidity and tannins in wine can kill off the fruity flavors, should they become proportionally to strong. Some associate “sweet” with “fruit”, this can be a slippery slope, since every wine should possess some fruit character, but the majority of wines are not categorized as sweet-style. If the tannins of red wine are light, then the fruit can seem “forward”, more noticeable for the taste buds, the same applies for low-weight acidity. Thus, red wines that contain less tannin, created from thinner skinned grapes such as the Gamay variety or the Pinot Noir, oftentimes appear more fruit since their fruit character doesn’t have to compete so readily with tannins. Likewise, a white wine with lower acidity might push the fruity flavors to the front and therefore appear sweeter as a result of less acidity, yet when you assess the numbers, the amount of sugar is still fairly low.