Wine Sweetness: Dry, Off-Dry, and Residual Sugar

Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sweetness is one of the most misunderstood parts of wine because the word carries baggage from outside the glass. Many drinkers use sweet to mean cheap, simple, fruity, soft, ripe, easy, or unserious. Others avoid the word so strongly that they miss some of the most balanced and useful bottles on the table. The confusion is understandable. Wine can smell like peaches and still be dry. A dry red can taste almost sweet because the fruit is ripe and the alcohol is warm. A lightly sweet Riesling can finish cleaner than a heavy dry white because acidity keeps it moving.

Off-Dry Wine on Fondsites

Wine Sweetness: Dry, Off-Dry, and Residual Sugar