2006-08-30 06:08:12 · 8 answers · asked by scallo_1 1 in Food & Drink ➔ Beer, Wine & Spirits
The sugar content. This called the brix on some (pricier) labels. A really dry wine will have nearly all the sugar fermented into alcohol.
2006-08-30 06:19:12 · answer #1 · answered by John T 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How dry or sweet a wine will be is determined by the winemaker who can stop fermentation while there is still remaining sugar in order to make a sweeter wine, or allow it to ferment into alcohol to make a dryer wine.
What determines how sweet/dry it is is the amount of sugar remaining in the wine, usually expressed as RS (residual sugar) and measured either in grammes per liter or by percentage.
However, ones own perceptionof dryness/sweetness can be affected by other factors including the amount of acidity in the wine and tannins.
2006-08-31 06:20:37 · answer #2 · answered by Pontac 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The residual sugar content after the fermentation is stopped is what makes a wine dry or sweet.
Tannins and oak barrel aging affects other components of the flavor, but not the dryness or sweetness. The term "Complexity" refers to the combination of dryness, tannins/astringency, oakiness, other flavors that result from the fermentation (berries, citrus, leather, spice, etc)...each one of these and their relative intensity as compared to each other and other wines help create the character and complexity of the wine.
2006-08-30 17:37:41 · answer #3 · answered by Trid 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dryness and sweetness refer to a wine's residual sugar content. If a wine is drier, the less sugar it has. There are some wines that naturally tend to be more fruit-forward (sweet) by the nature of the grape itself, such as Rieslings, Gewurztraminer, muscat and viognier. White zinfandel, on the other hand, is wine that comes from a decent, spicy red grape (zinfandel) but has not had prolonged contact with the skins- and then sugar is added to it, which makes it a kind of bastardized kool-aid concoction rather than a legitimate wine.
2006-08-30 14:48:24 · answer #4 · answered by Kate D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The level of tannins in the wine and if it has been aged it oak. If so? Aged oak or new french? Stainless steel aging usually produces a crisper finish - hence less "dryness".
2006-08-30 17:16:17 · answer #5 · answered by jonesmarty 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Oh you can tell once you have tasted dry or sweet!!
2006-08-30 17:07:30 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is determined by when (if) the fermentation process is stopped.
2006-08-30 13:33:11 · answer #7 · answered by budntequilla 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your tongue
2006-09-02 22:36:11 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋