Understanding the Terms Dry and Fruity In Wine

Three terms used in describing wine are sweet, dry and fruity. While sweet really needs no explanation the other two can be confusing to some. When shopping for wines to pare with their meals or snack loaded cheese boards it is important to understand the terms used in describing wine.

For some wine enthusiasts fruity can often be confused with sweet since many people tend to think of fruit as sweet. While strawberries, blueberries, and peaches are packed with sugar other fruits like limes and Granny Smith apples are not nearly as sweet. For this reason a wine can have a fruity taste without being sweet from sugar inside.

Dry can be a very confusing term for those not familiar with wine terms. Dry wines are those that are not sweet and therefore do not cause the mouth to create saliva. Sweet wines are not dry since the sugar coats your mouth, causing saliva to be produced making the mouth wet. Wines that are not sweet, will not cause saliva therefore it is often referred to as dry.

via Rhino Wino