Too many flavors & no clue!!!

[Randy Caparoso]

There are, however, some simple concepts to grasp. Wines that taste slightly sweet or sweeter technically have levels of sugar in them at .5% or higher. Wines that taste "dry" are those with .4% or less residual sugar, going all the way to 0%.

Other than that, there are some mitigating circumstances. The palate also detects sensations of sourness (contributed by levels of acidity) and bitterness (contributed by natural tannin, originating in skins, seeds and stems of grapes and ending up in wine). Wines with higher amounts of acidity can, indeed, make a wine taste less sweet than it is. German Rieslings, for instance, tend to have higher acidity than California grown Rieslings. Therefore, a German Riesling with 2% sugar may taste slightly sweet, but not nearly as sweet as a California Riesling with just 1% sugar (which may have less sugar, but also less acid). It's a matter of balance, like oil and vinegar used in a dressing.

With reds, wines made from particularly high tannin grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon can taste slightly bitter, hard or even astringent; and so although it may be just as dry (i.e. 0% sugar) as a Pinot Noir, a Cabernet may very well taste "dryer."

In any case, a dry wine is basically one with almost no sugar.

[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 06-06-2000).]