To simplify the concept of wine sweetness, you can compare wines on this chart. Although not all wine conform to the generalizations within, you can still learn a great deal about how to find wine in the sweetness range you prefer. Some wines are so dry that they scrape the moisture from your tongue and make the inside of your mouth stick to your teeth. On the other end of the spectrum, some wines are so sweet that they stick to the sides of your glass like motor oil. Why Some Dry Wines Taste More Dry Than Others Wine writers have put words to the concept of dryness for years and food scientists have actually studied why some wines taste more dry than others. Both groups claim that aroma, tannin and acidity are key components to why a wine tastes ‘dry.’ You Might Be More Sensitive to Tannin Than Your Friends What’s interesting about tannin is that a recent study demonstrated that some people have higher sensitivities to tannin based on the amount of proteins naturally present in their saliva.

People with more proteins in their saliva do not feel the drying effect of tannin as much as people with less. Another interesting fact is that the taste of tannin is reduced when paired with salty and fatty foods. Acidity Tricks Our Perception of SweetnessA wine that has higher acidity will taste more ‘dry’ than a wine with less acidity. Several producers of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc will leave a couple of grams of residual sugar in their wines because the acidity is so high. Our Noses Prime Our Sense of Taste Our sense of smell also greatly affects our perception of sweetness. As you can imagine, a wine that smells sweeter will also taste sweeter. Wine varieties are often referred to as ‘Aromatic’ because of their sweet floral aromas. A few examples of this are Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Muscat.Wine sweetness (or wine dryness) is determined not only by the amount of sugar in a wine, but also by acidity, alcohol content, and the presence of compounds called tannins.

Below is an easy to read wine sweetness chart showing most popular varieties of red and white wines, and how sweet or dry they taste. Keep in mind that individual wine typesfood and wine best vegetarian recipes can vary between makers, so this chart should be used as a general reference to help you pick a wine suited to your tastes.best organic wine listIf you are new to the world of red wines, you may have heard a lot of terms used to describe many wines that look alike. best wine for 15 dollarsFor example, in red wines, there are dry wines, and sweet wines, and it seems a number of wines in between. order of red wine drynessSo what's the difference? buy a wine estate

Dry wines are wines that have no sugar residue. The fermentation process that creates wine is a process where the sugar in the grapes is broken down, and fermented, to create the wine. best white wine christmas 2015Sometimes there are residual sugars in the wine, once the fermentation process is complete. Other times sugars are added. As more of these sugars are added, the sweeter the wine becomes. But in order to become a dry wine, those residual sugars have to be gone. Dry wines are considered more complex and sophisticated. The joy of drinking a dry wine is that you can experience the amazing nuances of flavours that are melded together. You can have tobacco, earth, chocolate, berry and other flavours that are pure in the wine. It also is meant to meld with the meal being consumed to create new flavours as the residual food flavouring and wine are combined between bites. When choosing a dry red wine, here are some tips;

This is the baby of the dry red wine family. It's considered the introductory red wine that has a softer taste than many others, but can be pared well with meats and fish. A medium dry red wine that pairs well with creamy sauces, spicy foods, and most meats. Considered a pasta wine, as it pairs well with any tomato based foods or sauces. This is a heavy wine. Meant to be paired with red meat this is a very hearty wine that often has an oaky or spicy flavour. These are the more hearty red wines. They are paired with red meats for the best impact. There are so many types of fruity red wines that it is difficult to remember them all. Manischewitz wine, for example, tastes essentially like alcoholic grape juice. Whereas Champagne is considered a fruity wine but can actually taste quite bitter to some people. Port is a style of dessert wine. It tends to have a much higher alcohol level than most wines, ranging anywhere between 15 and 20%, so it can burn a little, but Port is designed to keep its natural fruit flavouring.

There are several different styles of Port wine, so you can easily find one that goes well with your meal, and if you have people that are not fond of dry wines, there is no question that port is likely the wine for them. Alcohol Units per Glass When consuming wine it's always a good idea to keep track of the alcohol units each glass - or bottle - contains, to ensure you stay within the recommended limits. To help calculate the amount of units you have consumed, use our alcohol unit calculator; a simple to use tool where you enter the amount of wine consumed (as well as other popular drink types). How Long Alcohol Stays In Your System Blood Alcohol Concentration Tool Removing the Smell of Alcohol from Your Breath Slang Names For Alcohol What Are Cocktail Dresses? Standard Drink Unit Calculator Bartender Tips & TricksEver find one size is too small and the next size is too large? That's because the chances of every guy fitting perfectly into small, medium, large, and extra large are next to nothing.