What makes wine "dry"?

It refers to the amount of sweetness in the wine. There are "Sweet" wines, and "Dry" wines- which sounds better than "Sour" wine.

They put it in different bottles....lol

Less sugar.

when the bottles been drank empty.

You sure it's not less water :))

not sure I dont drink.....boozahol

Dry wine has a low Must weight, basically the sugar content after fermenting, the sugars are comprised of fructose, along with some glucose. Sweet wine has a comparatively higher content hence it's sweet taste compared to dry wine. You should invariable drink dry wine with a meal as it doesn't affect the pallet as much as sweet.

It doesn't seem all that dry when you spill some over yourself. :-)

PH and suger content ratios.

The dryness of a wine refers to it's sugar content. Dry wine has very little sugar. Where I live, the dryness of wines is represented in stores with a number. I think '0' is the driest and 3 is the sweetest. My favorite wines are mostly 2s and 3s. This is one I like.

Something else about wine is the year. Good wines will be marked with a year. Since each growing season is a little different, there is some variation in the flavor of the grapes. The difference between two years of the same wine can be quite noticeable. People who are really serious will hoard a good year of their favorite wine and only break out a bottle occasionally.

In wine talk dry is the opposite of sweet but it doesn't mean full blown sour (that would be vinegar). Fermentation requires oxygen and sugar, If one or the other runs out the fermentation stops at that point. Sweet wines have used up their oxygen supply before much of the sugars have been fermented into alcohol. Dry wines had enough oxygen just to ferment most of the sugar into alcohol.

It also has to do with the PH of the fermentation process. Acidic goes more toward vinegar and alkali goes more toward the dry effect. It's a combination of factors. ceeee.......=)

Makes sense. I'm no expert but my uncle made his own wine and gave me some knowledge.

Yeah several years ago, I went to the library and checked out a winemaking book, It's a tad more complicated than it seems. Alot of controlls involved. I'm not a pro either yet ;)

But from comments here, it looks like it has to do with the amount of sugar left after fermenting.

Do I look like an Italian to you?

I think it is sugar content.

Actually, it is the LACK OF sugar. It has no sweetness taste. Dry.

All the sugar has been fermented giving the non sweet dry taste.

But if it tastes dry to me I put an ice cube in it, lol! It really upsets my wine snob friends;-D
Sometimes I'll just do for the hell of it.

A Dry wine will have no residual sugar after the fermentation process is complete ..
(and most wines are blends .. of various subspecies of grapes too)

I tried ICE wine one time. It tasted just like, we used to make out of dandelions. Dandelion wine. I was really disappointed. It was really sweet. It tasted ok, but after the big hype about it, I guess, I expected,,,,more? I have the recipe of Dandelion wine, but no dandelions.

I find dandelions every so often ..
(would be curious to see a dandelion wine recipe)

It is quite interesting ..
All the varietals and how they are categorized ..
it wasn't until I was already retired ..
that I finally had the time to learn a bit about wine-making and how to pair with recipes ..
(yep .. now doing that for those who enjoy wines)
it is stunning to find out how the ones certified as sommeliers have such sensitive tastes as to be able to tell the particular blends of grapes or whatever that made that wine what it is ..

Not positive, but it would seem the variety of grape and when it's harvested would determine how dry or sweet a wine is. I know that "late harvest" wines are generally sweeter.

Spoken like a connoisseur :))

I've been known to have a taste now and again. :)

Haha, i bet you have :))
I always thought a dry wine was an empty bottle, and this coming from a man who chills red wine to the bone :)

I'm not into the reds - too tannic for me, but I do know that reds should be served at room temperature. I prefer a less dry Riesling myself.

The only white i can drink is Vino Verdi, it has a 'bite' to it, the only drinks i would indulge in 'not cold' are tea or coffee, all others are best served cold, i know i'm a Philistine :))

I'm betting you would eat a pastrami sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise. :)

Ketchup or peanut butter, hehehe, and an ice cold glass of Claret :))

LOL ... I was going to say, "But, that's OK as long as you pair it with a good red."

Linnster, i am nothing if not the epitome of sophistication, in fact i often reserve a table at Burger King when escorting a lady to dinner :))

You are MY kind of guy. :)

I always knew that you are pure class......so shall we skate down the avenue...:))

Absolutely, Fred.

Love,
Ginger

Timeless....sigh :)