Sweet vs dry

[Art]

How can I tell a sweet wine from a dry wine before opening the bottle?

[Bucko]

Good question, Art. The answer is vague. There are obvious answers such as late harvest wines are most often sweet. German wines are of above the Spatlese level are sweet. Ports are sweet. But you cannot tell on many wines. There are just no clues. Alsace wines are notorious for this. The best way is to ask........

[Innkeeper]

If there are no indicators on the bottle, assume the wine is dry. Yeah, I know what happens when you assume. Those wines that are usually assumed to be be off dry such as riesling will have the words dry (English) or troken (German) on the label when then are dry. Most fortified wines such as Sherry or Port are off dry.