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+--- Thread: Label reading? (/thread-18525.html)
- astonv0l - 04-06-2003
Will the label on a bottle of wine show that it will be dry? will there be a special phrase or name used, I'm not a big fan of dry wines but I'm still learning so I am sure dry's would go with some food but until I develope my pallet, I'm going to play safe for now :-]
- stevebody - 04-06-2003
With most "still" wines - those not sparkling - assume they're dry unless it's clearly stated on the bottle that it's not. You'll seldom find a non-French wine that has any sugar content to speak of that doesn't say so on the label.
Problem is HOW it's said on that label. In French winespeak, you'll sometimes see the words "demi-sec" on a bottle of still wine, even though that term is usually used only for sparkling wines. I've seen the term "off dry" a couple of times, too. Unless it's a dessert wine, the frank staement "sweet" seldom ever appears on a label. On New World wines (those from this side of the Atlantic, including Australia) reading the back label sometimes will let you know if it's a little (or a lot) sweet. Don't worry: wineries sneaking a sweet wine into an unmarked bottle is pretty rare. I've only had it happen once in the past twenty years, with a Sine Anne Oregon Pinot Gris that was distinctly off-dry without noting it on the bottle.
Makers of sweet wines present them as something that clearly means sweet. "Late Harvest" will nearly always be a wine that's pretty sweet. "Ice Wine" or the Germanic "Eiswein" will be very sweet. Muscat or moscato, in its many variations, is almost always nicely off-dry, UNLESS it says "dry" on the bottle. Muscat is such a fabulous package of aromas and flavors in its sweet state that it's not fermented dry often.
If you don't see any mention of sweetness, it's safe to assume that it's not. One important note, though: Many, many of my customers say they don't like a very dry wine when what they're actually saying is that they like a lot of fruit flavors. Fruitiness, even in a bone-dry wine, will read on your palate as a sort of sweetness. To see what I mean by that, get a bottle of Pepperwood Grove Syrah and taste that. It comes across as sweet, even though there's not sugar at all in it. Then try a cheap Bordeaux like the Rothschild basic bottle or Premius or Chateau Bonnet. They'll tsate a whole lot drier, even though they're the same sugar content as the PG. It may be you like fruit and not sugar? Experiment a bit and find your comfort zone and ask questions in this forum whenever you need answers. Lots of smart, non-judgemental wine folks here!
- Thomas - 04-06-2003
You might find wines that are called dry (Dry Riesling) yet they do contain fair levels of sugar. That is because the term dry relates not to sugar but to acidity--dry is what acidity makes your mouth feel like.
To illustrate a dry sensation coming from a wine with considerable sugar, try Brut Champagne. Brut is a style of sparkling wine that can contain from .5% to as much as 2% residual sugar by volume, yet it is considerd a dry wine--high acid (plus Co2 to shield us from the sweet sensation).
As to your label question: SB is correct when he says that most labels will hardly identify when a wine is dry, but usually identify when a wine is sweet.
[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 04-06-2003).]
- astonv0l - 04-06-2003
Thanks guy's,and SB I think your right, I do like "fruity" wines, my mistake. I'm going to buy the book recomended by most "Great Wine Made Simple" by Andrea Immer,I am shure this will help me recognise the correct terminology for what I like and feel in my mouth.I know I like a smooth, fresh flavour that is fruity. also bright comes to mind so I guess I should stay away from high acidic wines? I just have to remember which ones they are. Thanks again everyone who replys to my postings, I am starting to feel better about my lack of knowledge, but I'm working on changing that "hic"
- Thomas - 04-06-2003
Don't want to confuse you astonv01, but "bright" could mean crispness, which might mean acidity.
Words are just that--words. I know of few words that are universally acknowledged as proper wine descriptors. The problem is amplified by the fact that everyone's palate is unique and that we all do not have the same experiences with taste and sensations to come up with the same words to identify a like sensation. I might call bright what you might consider too acidic, or I might call bland what you might consider smooth.
The thing to grasp is that, barring the technical stuff, enjoying wine is a subjective pleasure. If you like something call it by the words that come to your mind not by the words that come to someone else's.
- astonv0l - 04-06-2003
Thats a good point, however, isn't there a kind of baseline to follow? If a group of people like a wine and recommend it, isn't there a "common" factor that we can use so when someone recomends a wine we kinda know if we would like it?
This is kinda what I'm looking for because when I go to a store to buy wine and look at all the bottles of diffent types of wine,I need a baseline so I have a good chance of getting a good wine. I could be wrong, but this is how I would look at choosing a wine
- Thomas - 04-07-2003
There is a baseline of sorts, but the best way for anyone to grasp it is to taste as many different wines as possible--to build a memory bank.
So, you have your work cut out for you; now go get a lot of wine into your system...
- Kcwhippet - 04-07-2003
Don't know how it works where you are, but in many parts of the country the wine shops have both in store weekend tastings and special tastings. These are great ways to sample a wide variety of wines for little or no expense. Check your local shops and sign up for their newsletters which will give you tasting schedules as well as specials on wines that are on sale for that time period. In just a few months you'll be able to taste quite a few wines and you'll be well on your way to defining your own preferences.
- astonv0l - 04-07-2003
Thanks again, yes we have a wine store called "Total Wines & More" and they are very cool. They also have a white & red tasting sheet in the back of their catalog which is great, I have scanned it in so I can make copies for myself so if anyone wants me to post it I'll be glad to, I dont think they would mind, so let me know.
- wondersofwine - 04-14-2003
A dry wine with fruity flavor that I like is the Cru Beaujolais, Fleurie. You might ask if your local wine shop carries it or could include it in a tasting.