The wine says dry, but it tastes sweet. What is happening? Are my tastebuds broken? No, they are not! Many times, you may think a wine labeled dry is actually sweet, but this is not the case. Today we are busting the myth that some wines still taste sweet, but they are actually dry wines.

Residual sugar determines the sweetness of a wine. Winemakers control the residual sugar in their wines depending on type, style and their end goal for the product. The more residual sugar, the sweeter the wine. 

With dry wines, residual sugar levels are non-existent or low, which gives the wine the dry quality. So why do some dry wines, seem to taste sweet?

Fruit. Some grape varietals are very fruit forward. Meaning that they have notes of fruits. These fruit notes can cause a wine that is actually dry, to taste sweeter. It is the perception of your tastebuds, because fruit is associated with sweetness.

So, your tastebuds are not broken, some wines are just more fruit forward than others. A good example is a Missouri favorite, Vignoles. While Vignoles is made ranging from dry to sweet styles, it is a wine with a lot of fruit notes, specifically tropical fruit. This causes some people to taste a sweeter wine, even if it is actually a dry wine.

Myth busted!