Wine types: What is ‘sweet’ and ‘dry’?

Wine is a great addition to cooking, but there are also thousands of South Africans who love having a drink with their evening meal or date night. Vino also makes a great gift for someone – but you have to know the different types, or you might end up with the wrong taste!

Have you ever brought the wrong type of wine to a party, or paired the wrong one with your meal? It’s hard to explain, but it just won’t taste right.

Here’s how to tell the difference between sweet, semi-sweet and dry before you make the wrong beverage buy.

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SWEET WINE

According to the website for Wine Enthusiast, the first type of vino you’re looking at is called sweet – and this can include red, white and sparking types.

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Sweet can be made from any type of grape, but has a specific definition according to the law.

For something to be called sweet, it has to contain at least 30g of sugar per liter.

If you’d like to make a comparison, a liter of Coca-Cola contains approximately 140g of sugar by comparison. It’s sweet for vino, but not sweet for a soft drink.

SEMI-SWEET

A semi-sweet wine measures more than 3% sweetness, which makes it somewhere between something that’s sweet and not.

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If you want something complimentary to a sweet meal (or it’s a hot day), many choose semi-sweet wine to go with it.

DESSERT WINE

A dessert wine isn’t one that’s so sweet it could be dessert, but generally sweet or semi-sweet vino that gets served with (or after) dessert.

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If you’re having a several course fancy meal somewhere, don’t be surprised when someone pulls out the dessert bottle.

DRY WINE

According to the website Wine.com, a dry wine is a type of vino that contains ‘no residual sugar’ – where other types would be classified as sweet or semi-sweet.

This is perfect for ‘full-bodied’ cooking, like stews that require some red.

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The name ‘dry’ can be used for white, red or rosé according to research – and might pair well with deep, hearty dishes that make you feel right at home.