Vintner Views – June 2007

How Sweet It Is

   One of the most common misconceptions about wine revolves around the words sweet and dry.  Sweet and dry are technical terms used by wine professionals to describe how much or how little sugar is in the wine.  This is measured in terms of residual sugar, or R.S.

   Usually, wine starts out as grape juice or some other sweet liquid.  The juice, or “must” if the seeds and skins are still present, is normally in the 23-25% sugar range.  The winemaker then introduces yeast, which loves to eat sugar and convert it to three main products:  carbon dioxide (it’s the same stuff that causes the fizz in soda), alcohol and heat.  If the winemaker lets the fermentation go “dry”, it means there’s virtually no sugar left.  If the winemaker wants to leave some residual sugar, he or she will stop the fermentation so that there is some appreciable residual sugar, and the wine is thenceforth called sweet.

   Actually, the commercial vernacular has words to describe various levels of R.S.  If the wine has under .5%, (that’s one-half of one percent) the wine is termed “bone dry”.  If the wine is between .5% and 1%, the wine is “dry”.  Between 1% and 4%, the wine is called “off-dry”.  “Sweet” means there’s some level of sugar 4% or higher.  We don’t normally see residual sugars above 15%, but there certainly are exceptions.

   What’s confusing is when a wine is technically dry, but it tastes quite sweet.  This can happen in a number of ways.  Perceived sweetness is influenced by several factors.  First, a wine can be low in acid, and therefore taste sweeter than it actually is.  A very tart or acidic wine with 4% R.S. doesn’t taste as sweet as a low acid wine with the same R.S.

   Glycerin is a substance that occurs naturally in wine.  It has a very sweet taste, even though it is not included in R.S.  Glycerin also adds weight, body and viscosity to wine.  Another substance that can add to the perceived sweetness of wine is the alcohol itself.  Higher alcohol wines taste slightly sweeter than low alcohol wines.  Perhaps this is part of why high alcohol wines have become more popular over the last ten years.

   Carbon dioxide is another substance that can add to the perception of sweetness in a wine.  Just a hint of carbonation gives the wine a slight fruity component.  The same holds true of high levels of pectin.

   Tannins actually take away from the perceived sweetness of a wine.  They come from grape skins & stems.  and from the barrels if the wine was aged in oak.  Tannins act as an astringent.  They make the inside of your mouth feel a bit dry and sticky, almost chalky.  The more tannin in the wine, the less likely you are to say the wine tastes sweet.  Tannins are most prevalent in red wines, and are hardly noticeable in most white wines.

   Normally, when visiting a wine tasting room, wines are arranged in a tasting order.  First up are the dry wines, lighter to heavier, followed by sweet wines, least sweet to most sweet.  The reason for this is to fully appreciate each wine.  Tasting a very sweet wine before tasting a lightly sweet wine makes the latter taste less sweet than it actually is.  They are also arranged based on weight and body and tannin levels.  It can be a tricky proposition.  Next time you visit a winery or a tasting room, taste the wines in the order they are presented, and remember that the terms dry and sweet are words that can mean different things to different people.

This article appeared in the June 29, 2007 edition of the Grand Junction Free Press.

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