Dry vs Sweet Wine
What factors contribute to determining whether a wine is dry or sweet?
Time and Sugar
A combination of the amount of time spent fermenting and sugar content determines the dryness or sweetness of a wine. A dry wine will have had fermented longer and have less sugar than a sweet wine. While the experience of tasting dryness or sweetness levels in wine will vary some degree person to person, in terms of its chemistry, a dry wine is one that has less than 1% of residual sugar.
Grape Sweetness: Nature and Nurture
Ultimately, as described, the residual sugar percentage determines whether a wine is dry or sweet. The sugar content of the grapes that go into making a wine obviously determine the initial amount of sugar the yeast has to "work" with. A grape's sugar content may be inherent to the type of grape but also can be affected by climate and weather conditions. Grapes in warmer climates are well suited for sweet wines; cool climates for their drier counterparts. Grapes that are dried after harvest or frozen while still growing have even greater sugar levels and therefore well-suited for even sweeter wines. Prior to letting the yeast enjoy its feast, additional sugar may be added to the juice for some sweet wines.
Further Reading
- https://sweetwineclub.com/understanding-the-difference-between-dry-vs-sweet-wines
- https://www.winetraveler.com/wine-resources/whats-the-difference-between-dry-wine-and-sweet-wine/
April 29, 2023