NAMING A WINE BY TEXTURE

[jmbigley]

My question is this...When first introduced to wine the gentleman started from the right and went to the left offering texture names such as...SWEET, SEMI-SWEET, SEMI-DRY..TO ..DRY. Now reading I have also heard LIGHTEST, LIGHT WHITES, FULL-BODIED....How does one identify the names of wines from the sweetest to the dryest ? Thanks Jim

[wineguruchgo]

Hello Jim,

Welcome to the Wineboard!

What you are asking is actually two different questions.

Weight and Sugar. Wine has both.

With sugar: When grapes are fermented the yeast eats the sugar and the by-product is alcohol and carbon dioxide. The sugar level of the wine depends on how much sugar the yeast eats or doesn't eat.

As for weight the easiest way for me to describe it is by using milk as my metaphore.

Think of the way that whole milk feels in your mouth. Now think of how skim milk feels in your mouth. Both are milk, but the whole milk will feel heavier and creamier.

It's the same with wine.

Now, identifying names from sweet to dry. I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish but I would say that if you started with a German Auslese Riesling, Vouvray, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gruener Veltliner would go sweet to dry.

If you can tell us a little more of what you are trying to accomplish then we could help you more.

I'm sure others will chime in as well.

[jmbigley]

Thanks for replying....I suppose what I am asking is that I am getting confused on names. Having read more since my last post I see LIGHT, MEDIUM, LIGHT - MEDIUM, HEAVY, etc
then I am told SWEET, SEMI-SWEET, SEMI-DRY, then DRY...To not TRY and look STUPID there really isn't any REAL definitions (per-say) in these discussions of wine are there..or do folks just make them up as they go along?
In the REAL world of wine connisseurs what do folks name wine from sweet to dry?

[jmbigley]

So, the more the yeast eats up the sugar the less the sweetness? Would that also increase the alcohol content? less sugar more alcohol...more sugar less alcohol ? and in knowing what I like, say for instance; I like semi-dry/medium-dry (call it what you want) could I indentify that by reading a sugar content on the label? Does the label provide that information and would that information be accurate to my taste?

[Innkeeper]

The information you are looking for is rarely found on a wine bottle. One producer's regular Riesling can be just as sweet as another's semi-sweet Riesling.

One thing you can do is go to a producer's website, where you can find more detailed indormation on a given wine than what is printed on the label.

[wineguruchgo]

Jim I know this is confusing in the beginning but after a little while you will become an expert as to what you like.

It is a massive generalization and many on here like to spank me for saying it, but yes, the more sugar the yeast eats the less sweet the wine will be. Higher alcohol can mean less sugar and vice versa.

BUT!!!! It also depends on the grape.

Are you asking about red wines, white wines or both?

There are very few "sweet" reds so in general when writers are talking about sweet in a wine they generally are talking about white wines.

When they are talking about weight they are talking about either red or white.

A Pinot Noir is going to be a lot lighter (lets go back to the milk) than lets say a Cabernet.

An oaky, butter Chardonnay is going to be a lot heavier (bigger) than a Pinot Grigio.

There really isn't an indicator on the wine label as to what catagory it would fall into. Maybe we should start labeling wine like Salsa???

One thing I will tell you is that we are all educators here and there is no such thing as a stupid question so if you are stumped by anything, let us know!!!

[This message has been edited by wineguruchgo (edited 06-28-2008).]

[This message has been edited by wineguruchgo (edited 06-28-2008).]

[jmbigley]

GOOD STUFF...I'll be back with more questions..thank you