What do you mean when we say "dry" in relation to wine | Buy Wine Online
WINE VOCAB
WINE WORDS - they can mean different things in the "industry" and when you are out at a restaurant (whenever that happens again - hopefully sooner than later with "health permitting")!
WINE DELIVERED
We are delving in deep to one of those words that you must hear all the time - DRY! If you are a male and you are trying to impress that special someone, you better know the wine vernacular or you are going to fall flatter than a spatula!
No need to stress because knowledge is power and even the best can sometimes disagree!
DRY
Why is it confusing?
Well, technical versus perception seems to be the culprit!
TECHNICAL
So what does it mean? DRY refers to a wine without residual sugar. You just muttered "say what"!
RESIDUAL SUGAR
Residual Sugar is sugar hat remains in a wine after fermentation completes. It usually remains for one of three disjunctive reasons:
- INEFFECTIVE CONVERSION: The yeast was unable to continue converting sugar to alcohol
- HARD BAR BEWARE: The wine was fortified with a hard alcohol, which stopped fermentation
- OOH IT IS COLD HONEY: The temperature dropped significantly, killing the yeast
RESTAURANT TIPS
Utter the word "dry” when you want to make sure a white or sparkling wine is not a desert wine!
Unsurprisingly, the majority of wines are dry out there for obvious reasons unless you like to have ineffective conversion, too much "hard bar", or massive temperature drops!
VICTORY RECOMMENDED DRY WINES
Victory recommends the following dry wines so you can master your wine knowledge and palette. You won't be a sommelier overnight, as that takes serious experience and knowledge, but you will know what pairs better from an aperitif or amuse-bouche standpoint!
(Note: never forget to use that dry wit when having a glass of dry wine. It goes both ways because who does not love articulate and witty conversation with some interplay between the words, wine and food).
Until next time, the more you know, the more you can savour and drink with appreciation!