Finding someone who loves white wine isn’t something rare. Even though wine has a good range of types, white and red are the most typical wines. Coming to white wine, it is the most lover wine among people. We know about white wines, but there is one thing that we often hear about white wine but don’t know what it means. We often hear people say they like dry wines, especially when it comes to white wine; many people look for the driest white wine.
Even though every 8 out of ten people have a soft corner for white wine, they might not understand what this dry wine means. Before we jump into the definition of the driest white wine, it will help if you think about the type of wine you like. There are wines too sweet or less sweet, which one do you prefer? Many people like white wines with less or minimum sweetness. Even you may pick a bottle of white wine with less sweetness over a sweet one.
White wine with the minimum sweetness is what we call the driest white wine. So, the next time you hear someone saying they prefer dry white wine, you know the person is asking about white wine that doesn’t taste sweet. Even though there are plenty of dry white wines, it is hard to find the driest white wine available in the market. It is a common scenario where a company claims to produce the driest white wine, but they have a lot of sweetness when you taste them.
If you love dry white wines and are tired of buying the wrong ones, this article has your back. If you want to buy the driest white wine, you need to know the best companies available in the market. Several wine companies are selling white wines that come under the driest white wine category. You might like many of them based on your taste in dry white wines. This article will know how the white wines get dry, some famous dry white wines, and many more.
Table of Contents
The dryness of white wine
Whether it’s white or red, wines come from grapes. Even though all wines come from grapes, they are different in taste. There are sweet wines, fruity wines, and dry wines as well. In wine-producing farms, they harvest white grapes. White grapes are charming and have natural sweetness in them. When the riped grapes go through fermentation, the sugar in those grapes turns into alcohol. However, once the fermentation process ends, some sweetness is still left in the residual sugar drink.
Excessive natural sugar or residual sugar in white wines determines whether it is sweet or dry. White wines with minimal or no residual sugar come under the list of driest white wines. Although, in sweet white wine, the sweetness level is near about 20grams per glass. On the other hand, dry white wines may contain 1gram of residual sugar per glass. So the story of 1gram sugar per glass should be the measurement of containing the least sugar in the driest white wine.
Furthermore, most of the white wines available in the market that claims to be the driest white wine begin with a measurement of 5grams of sugar per glass. Since there are various white wines, they come under different categories based on their dryness or sweetness. It might not be apparent to understand how both wines come from the same grapes yet taste different. Well. If this is what makes you curious, it is the fermentation process that makes the difference. You must be wondering who decides whether they will make a sweet white wine or a dry and how? Aren’t you? Well. It is the farm owner who decides what kind of wine they want to produce from the grapes.
Many people think it’s hard to determine the dryness of the wine, and the owners might get confused during the process. However, they don’t confuse the dryness of sweetness of the white wine as they understand the dryness chart. As mentioned in the previous part, the natural sugar in grapes converts into alcohol during fermentation. The dryness or sweetness depends on the amount of fermentation.
It depends on the winemaker how they want to make it. If the fermentation process stops before all the residual sugar present in the juice turns into alcohol, it will taste sweet. On the other hand, if the winemaker continues the fermentation process until all the sugar converts into alcohol, it will have no sweetness and become a dry white wine.
Confusion and myths about white wine
By this line of the article, you know basic information about the driest white wine, how it should be, etc. However, there often occurs confusion when it comes to the driest white wine or dry white wines. Many people misunderstand wines that dry out their mouths as dry wines. Even though, in the wine industry, the word dry refers to lack of sweetness or the opposite of sweetness, the opposite of dry is wet. It is why the confusion between dry white wine and white wines that dry out mouth occurs.
There is an element called tennis. Tennis is one type of astringent that sucks the saliva out of your cheek, which causes dry mouth. Some wines contain tannins, which leaves the person with a dry mouth. However, most dry wines are free from tennis, which means they don’t cause dry mouth. It is entirely safe to consume dry wine without drying out your mouth.
Since the difference between the driest white wine and the whine that dries our mouth is evident by this line, we can move on to the following confusing fact about wines. There are various white wines, but it gets more confusing when you have to find the driest white wine among fruity wines. Before any further information clarifies this doubt, it will help to mention that people often get confused between sweet and fruity wines. It is because wine comes from fruits, and when we talk about white wine, the first thing to hit our minds is fruits.
Focusing on the dryness of fruity wines can be misleading as it tricks our tastebuds, nose, and brain at the same time. Fruity dry white wines mostly smell like grapes, apples, peaches, nectarines, and many more sweet fruits. The fruity smell tricks your brain to think that the wine you sipped is lovely. Although, when you taste the wine, there is no sweetness for your tastebuds to get from it. The fruity smell of white wine makes it hard for your mind to believe that it tastes sweet like a fruit.
Dry white wines
There is a wide range of dry white wines available in the market. White wine is a popular type of wine for wine lovers. Why wouldn’t it be? After all, it is the perfect combination of dryness and fruitiness to blow your mind. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find the driest white wine in the market due to the vast range of wine types available in the market. However, here is a list of some of the driest white wines.
- Assyrtiko
- Melon
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio
- Chardonnay
- Chenin Blanc
- Albarino
- Gruner Veltliner
- Semillon
- Viognier
- Torrontes
- Gewürztraminer
- Riesling
- Moscato
- White Port
- Ice Wine
These are the top sixteen driest white wines in the world. If you are a white wine lover, you would probably prefer a dry white wine over a sweet one. However, it can be misleading at times to determine which one to buy for more dryness. Here you have the list of the driest white wine, rated the best among all dry white wines by winemakers, wine tasters, and wine lovers as well. However, all of these are not on the same scale when it comes to dryness. It will help if you go through the brief description of some of the driest white wines among the sixteen names on the list.
Melon or Melon de Bourgogne
White wine that comes from Muscadet in the Loire valley tops the dryness chart of white wines. It got the name Melon from the grapes named melon de Bourgogne. Melon de Bourgogne is the grape available only in Muscadet, Loire Valley, and these grapes make the driest white wine. So if you want to experience the driest white wine, it will be better to get a Melon in your cart during your next wine shopping.
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is the most popular among all the driest white wines. Moreover, there are varieties of Sauvignon Blanc based on the various regions it comes from, and the dryness of the white wine might be different due to it. Even though the dryness might differ in Sauvignon Blanc based on where they come from, the difference is not huge. It is comfortable to adjust with the dryness it provides. It will help if we mention which Sauvignon Blanc is higher on the dryness chart.
Sauvignon Blanc that comes from France stands first on the scale of dryness. It is one of the driest white wines. On the other hand, Sauvignon, Blanc, from California or New Zealand is less dry on the chart.
Assyrtiko
There are many misconceptions, one Assyrtico being one of the driest white wines globally due to its availability on both dry wine and sweet wine on the dryness chart. If you are one of those people who skip on Assyrtico thinking it is a lovely wine, this article is going to be an eye-opener for you. Even though you can find Assyrtico on both sides of a dryness chart, it does not make it different from the other driest white wines. There is a reason it comes on the sweet wine side, and you will know its explanation.
Assyrtiko is one of the driest white wines originated from Greece, the Island of Santorini. It contains searching acidity and the quality of saline, which is perfect for making Vin Santo. Vin Santo is a famous sweet dessert wine, and since it comes from Assyrtiko, Assyrtiko comes on both sides of the dryness chart.
Gruner Veltliner
Even though Gruner Veltliner is one of the driest white wines, it is not a fruity one. When it comes to the dryness scale, it has less dryness than some of the driest white wines mentioned in the list. Gruner Veltliner comes from Australia, and its spiciness makes it different from others. It is a famous spicy and dry white wine and safe to consume.
Riesling
Riesling is the name of the most desirable white wine. The best thing about Riesling is it has everything to make anyone happy. Even though it is one of the driest white wines for dry white wine lovers, it doesn’t make others upset. Riesling has various types of it. The driest white wine you buy, named Riesling, comes from Alsace. On the other hand, you can find Riesling as a sweet or dessert wine if it’s from Germany. You can also get an off-dry Riesling that comes from Washington.
Albarino
Albarino is one type of white grape that comes from Spain and Portugal. The drink has a refreshing and mild flavor which makes the white wine perfect. Even though it comes under the driest white wine, it tastes somewhere between dry and off-dry.
Final thoughts
It is possible to know how dry is your wine before buying it or tasting it. So when you pick a wine bottle, turn to the other side and look for the ABV percentage. You know you will pay for one of the driest white wines when the ABV percentage is more than 12.
Even though there are many options, the Muscadet is the driest white wine. This article will help you find your perfect and the best dry white wine.
