Pop quiz: Is Riesling dry or sweet?
Answer: Both. Confusing? You bet. One of the cool things about Riesling, Germany's most famous varietal, is its versatility in wines ranging from refreshingly dry to nobly sweet. But one of the uncool things about Riesling is that you don't necessarily know whether the bottle you're eying will be bone dry, sickeningly sweet, or somewhere in between.
Some producers already label their offerings "dry" or "sweet," but those terms are fairly relative. Enter the Riesling Taste Profile, a technical chart of parameters defining the categories Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet, and Sweet. The label is strictly optional, though, and it may be some time before producers begin to adopt it.
In the meantime, here's an easy rule of thumb to follow when you're trying to figure out how sweet or dry a Riesling will be: look at the alcohol percentage. A low percentage (8-10) means the wine will be sweeter. A higher percentage (12-12.5) means the wine will be drier. Why? Sugar converts to alcohol in the fermentation process. The more sugar that's converted, the higher the alcohol will be and the lower the sugar.
I personally dig dry Riesling for its refreshing acidity, gorgeous fruit and honey aromas, and versatility with food, but the rest of my family wouldn't ever pass up a late-harvest dessert Riesling. Which do you like better--sweet or dry?
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