What does dry mean?
It would be silly to carry on telling you how to tell if a white wine is dry if you don't even know what “dry” means.
Dry is simply a way of differentiating sweet wines from non-sweet wines: a sweet, dessert wine is not dry, while a white wine that you may drink with dinner is.
Within the realm of these two large categories, there are a lot of different levels of dryness: one dry white wine may be sweeter than another without becoming too sweet to drink with food.
How does a wine become dry?
Wine is not just grape juice. Why? Many factors, most of which relate back to one big characteristic: alcohol. Without the alcohol caused by the fermentation process, wine would not be worth drinking, and it is precisely this fermentation process that determines whether a wine will be sweet or dry.
Fermentation is the conversion of the natural sugars in the grapes to alcohol: if the fermentation process is stopped early, there will be more sugar in the wine, and the wine will be sweeter (and often more alcoholic.)
Although it is not an all-purpose answer to the question, “How do you tell if a white wine is dry?” a good hint can be comparing the alcohol content of two wines to see if one is sweeter (less alcoholic) than the other.
Taste
So how do you tell if a white wine is dry? The best way is to taste it: a dry white wine will taste acidic and not terribly sweet. A dry white wine is also generally more complex, with floral or earthy notes, whereas the taste of a sweet wine is usually predominantly just that: sweet.
Examples of dry white wine
The best way to answer the question, “How do you tell if a white wine is dry?” for yourself is to taste some!
Many Rieslings and Sauvignon Blancs as well as Pinot Gris, Muscadet and Chardonnay are good white wines to try.
If you are unsure, ask for advice: a good wine seller will be able to point you in the right direction for a dry white wine.
Visit these boutique wineries to grow your knowledge of boutique wine and boutique wineries:
