wine terms dry, semi dry etc...

[culnatchee]

Could someone explain to me what the terms dry, semi dry mean. I know its very basic but this has always confused me

[Innkeeper]

Hi Culnatchee, and welcome to the Wine Board. When grapes are fermented, the sugar in them turns into alcohol. When all the sugar is fermented, the wine is dry. If less than all sugar is fermented or if unfermented juice is put back in, the wine is off dry. There are many "undry" terms. If you are progressing from dry they normally are: off dry, semi sweet, and sweet. Semi dry would be a term used if progessing from sweet.

[Thomas]

But why dry? What does lack of sugar have to do with the "wetness" of a wine? Common question.

The answer: dry refers to the way your mouth feels when you consume wines with low sugar content; it has to do with relative acidity.