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Importers of Fine Wines Since 1919 | Resources for the Trade |
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At what point is a wine sweet?The average recognition threshold for sugar is one percent. This means that 50 percent of the population will recognize the sugar in wine at the one percent level; the other half of the population has recognition thresholds higher or lower than that.
Sugar at low levels (0.5%) fleshes out a wine and makes it supple and smooth. Most people will detect a “richness” without being able to label it as “sweet”. This low level residual sugar performs other flavor enhancing functions as well: it masks bitterness and balances out high acid levels. Tannins and pigments and the course of timeTannins and pigments comprise a class of heart-healthy compounds known as polyphenols.
For this reason, as a wine ages, a red wine changes color from inky purple to brick red…and the texture of the wine changes from chalky taffeta to smooth satin. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
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Residual sugar refers to sugar left-over in the wine after fermentation is complete; these are natural grape sugars that were not converted into alcohol. A wine with residual sugar will usually have a lower alcohol level than a wine fermented dry. In the wine industry, the definition of dry is not sweet.
Small bottles of wine age and mature faster than large bottles. As a wine ages, acid molecules link up with alcohol molecules to form aromatic compounds known as esters. Esters contribute to the complex set of scents known as the nose or bouquet.
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For this reason, two people tasting the same wine can have two distinct impressions. One may think the wine is dry while the other perceives it as sweet.
In the course of aging, these molecules bond with each other to form huge macro-molecules that can no longer stay in suspension; they precipitate out of the wine as sediment.
Technically, the term aroma refers to the scent of the grape; bouquet refers to those scents derived from winemaking technique and aging.