Why dry wine is called dry
Why dry wine is called dry
Anonim

It turns out that dry mouth has nothing to do with it.

Why dry wine is called dry
Why dry wine is called dry

Perhaps the first thing we learn about wine when we begin to take an interest in it is the division into sweet and dry. While everything seems to be clear with sweet, many have difficulties with dry. In fact, only one factor is decisive here: the absence of sugar.

Any wine starts with grape juice, and it contains a lot of natural sugars. During fermentation, yeast converts it into alcohol. If you want a sweet wine, the fermentation is stopped before the yeast has converted all the sugar. The part that remains in the drink is called residual sugar.

To obtain dry wine, fermentation is not interrupted - so that all the sugar turns into alcohol. And initially they take less sweet grape varieties.

So dry wine is just wine with almost no residual sugar. It tastes unsweetened.

According to the EU regulation on wine labeling, a drink is considered dry if it contains 4-9 grams of sugar per liter. In semi-dry, the amount of sugar is 12-18 grams per liter, and in semi-sweet - 18-45. Wines with a higher sugar content are called sweet wines. However, the lack of sweetness (dryness of the wine) does not mean that there will be no fruity notes in it. Think of fruit juice - it can be savory, but it still tastes rich. It's the same with dry wine.

But if the wine leaves a dry mouth, this does not mean that it is dry. It's just a lot of tannins. These substances are found in grape skins, seeds, and combs (tassels for which the berries are attached to the branch). After pressing the grapes, all this is left in the juice for a while. The longer the skin and seeds are soaked in it, the more tannins will get into it and the more tart and astringent the taste of the finished wine will be.

If you want to better understand what the taste of tannins is, pour boiling water over the black tea and leave it for a longer time. After the first sip, you will feel a specific bitter taste and dry mouth. Remember these sensations, they will help determine the tannins of the wine.

Strength is also often considered an indicator of dryness, but this is not true. Dry wine is not necessarily stronger than sweet wine.

It may seem so, because the high alcohol content in the mouth leaves the same dry sensation that can be easily attributed to dry wine. But that in itself doesn't say anything. There are very strong yet sweet wines, such as port.

As for the word "dry", there is no exact information about where it came from. According to one hypothesis, the name appeared because sugar is completely ("dry") fermented in such wine.

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