The word "dry red" is very common in the wines we usually come into contact with. However, for wine novices, it seems difficult to grasp what is dry red, and some people even directly use it as synonymous with red wine. But is this really the case? What exactly does "dry red" mean? And what are the characteristics?
Wine itself is a liquid, and it also contains a certain amount of water, so shouldn't wine be wet? How can there be a dry red saying? Most of the newcomers who are just getting started have this question. If the word "dry" in dry wine is so difficult to understand, why do people use such a word to describe wine?
In fact, in the world of wine, "dry" and "sweet" are corresponding, but because people's taste buds are more likely to perceive sweet things, it is generally difficult to grasp what is dry wine. We usually refer to dry red as an abbreviation of dry red wine, which refers to wines with low residual sugar and a taste that is not sweet or almost not sweet. But this does not mean that all red wines are dry, and some red wines are also sweet.
During fermentation, yeast converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Therefore, the winemaker can determine the residual sugar content of the wine by controlling the fermentation process, and thus decide whether the wine is dry. That is to say, if you want to make dry wine, you only need to let the fermentation process complete normally, so that the sugar is almost all converted into alcohol, so the wine tastes almost sweet; and if the winemaker wants a sweet or semi-sweet wine, then he only needs to shorten the fermentation time so that there is a certain amount of sugar left in the wine.
Therefore, the content of residual sugar in the wine is a direct factor affecting whether the wine is dry or sweet, and the residual sugar content of dry wine is low, so dry red generally has no sweetness.
(1) According to the residual sugar content
It is worth mentioning that even dry red wines contain a small amount of sugar. Therefore, by looking at the residual sugar content indicated on the wine label, and then comparing the following content, you can make a judgment.
Dry red wine: less than 4 g/l residual sugar;
Semi-dry wines: residual sugars are between 4-12 g/l;
Semi-sweet red wine: residual sugar between 12-45g/l;
Sweet red wine: sugar content greater than 45g/l.
(2) Other methods
Since some wines do not indicate the residual sugar content on the label, it cannot be judged directly. At this time, we can speculate by alcohol level. Generally speaking, the lower the alcohol content of the wine, the higher the residual sugar content. However, it should be noted that the higher the sugar content, the lower the alcohol content, such as port (port) fortified wine is sweet, but its alcohol content is also relatively high.
The fruitiness in red wine is mostly the flavor of red fruits, common ones are cherries, plums, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants... Since these fruits all seem to be sweet, there are always people who think that a fruity wine must be a sweet wine. In fact, although red wines almost all have a certain fruity taste, most red wines are dry. In other words, there is no substantial correlation between the fruity and sweet tastes of wine. However, it is not excluded that fruity dry red wines can give people a similar sweetness.
In addition, the tannins and acidity in the wine also affect the fruitiness of the wine. In general, if the tannins or acidity in the wine are low, then the fruity taste is not masked, so it is generally more obvious. For example, red wines made from thin-skinned grapes such as gamay and pinot noir have relatively low tannin content, so the fruity taste is relatively obvious.