Rookie dry wine question.

[Thomas]

Mom--Based on what you say about liking dry but not liking bitter, you might find yourself doing a lot of experimenting before you settle on wine you like--but that's the fun of wine.

Don't think of "dry" as just being a wine with all the sugar fermented out of it; that's only part of the definition. Dry also means the wine might have one or two strong components: tannin or acidity, each of which can cause your mouth to pucker. There are many wines that contain upwards of 1% residual sugar by volume but they still make your mouth pucker because of high acidity.

Bitterness in the finish is often the result of seeds, stems and skin contact, and that is mainly because that is where tannin is found (and in oak barrels too). The hallmark sensation of tannin is to make you pucker; the hallmark taste of it bitterness. Big, young reds can be bitter in the finish.