What is the difference between dry and semi-sweet wine: short and sweet

Connoisseurs of grape drinks know that dry wine is considered to be the healthiest, in which the sugar content is reduced to the necessary minimum.

What is the difference between dry and semi-sweet wine?

1. In terms of sweetness

   Dry wine is called dry because the sugar in it is fermented "dry". In such a drink, the content of sweet residue is no more than 4 g/l. Therefore, not everyone likes the taste of this wine. Semisweet wine contains from 18 to 45 grams of sugar per liter. Therefore, it has a higher calorie content.

2. In the production technology

   For semi-sweet drinks, it will be more labor-intensive. Of course, when it comes to mediocre wines, in which sugar is added already in finished form. To get a real semi-sweet drink, grape varieties with high sugar content (at least 20-23%) are selected. Late-ripening varieties are leading among them, such as: Merlot, Muscat, Riesling.

   When harvesting raw materials, it is important not to miss the moment when the sweetness ratio reaches its maximum. Sometimes the fruits are specially dried or frozen on the vine to make them "sugar".

   During fermentation, it is necessary to control the ratio of sugar to alcohol to catch the moment of perfect balance. At this time, the work of the yeast is stopped by cooling or heating the wort. Next, sulfur dioxide is added to separate the semi-finished wine product from the yeast residues, filtered and waited for natural light.

   When it comes to dry wine, the sugar is allowed to ferment to the end.

3. Taste

   High-quality semisweet wines are characterized by a delicate, fresh, light bouquet with notes of plum, berries, sweet pepper, flowers, dried fruits. That's why they are so popular.

   Only true connoisseurs can appreciate dry wines, as not everyone likes the sour, tart taste.

4. Effect on health

   Dry wines contain valuable acids, antioxidants, glucose, fructose, tannins, vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and other nutrients. Therefore, they are considered the most beneficial for health.

   The value of semi-sweet drinks is much lower.

5. Volumetric alcohol content

   Both types range from 8.5 to 15% (according to the Russian classification). However, semi-sweet wines are more often characterized by an average degree (11-13%), while dry wines usually lean towards the extremes of the range (from 9 to 16%).

Do not confuse semi-sweet wines with semi-dry wines

These are completely different categories.

You can recognize dry wine on foreign labels by the designation dry (English).), sec (French.), trocken (German.), seco (esp.), and semisweet is labeled as medium sweet, semi-sweet, demi-doux, lieblich, semidulce.

Tip from Shake it up

A drink with a high level of sweetness makes it easier to disguise poor product quality and technology violations, which is often used by unscrupulous producers. Therefore, if you are not well versed in alcohol, it is better to give preference to dry wine.

Update: 18.01.2020

Category: Wine and Vermouth