Dan Berger: The problem with sweetness in wines

<p>As much as I know about wine, the one thing that I often never know for certain is how sweet a wine will be — until I taste it.</p><p>Many wines I look at in wine shops seem as if they are dry. But I’m sensitive to sugar, and almost no one tells us what we need to know about this issue on wine labels.</p><p>Three cases in point came across my tasting table recently; two were easy to ignore.</p><p>One was a chardonnay that clearly had actual residual sugar. A lot of chardonnay is made that way these days. so the wine appeals to a broader range of people who do not like “sour” wines.</p><p>The second was a red zinfandel that is well regarded in some circles. The wine may have had sugar, but its more egregious problems were low acidity and high alcohol. The combination almost made me gag. It certainly was a bad choice for the dinner table with anything less sweet than chocolate cake.</p><p>Then came a riesling. Riesling is one of my favorite wines, yet many Americans shy away from it because in most cases, you can’t tell whether a wine is dry or sweet. </p><p>Wineries rarely put sweetness information on the label. As a result, potential consumers are left with the impression that most rieslings will be a bit, or very, sweet. And as a result many people seeking a dinner wine bypass riesling.</p><p>Most American rieslings, especially in the past, are not like the classic dry rieslings of Alsace and Australia. Most have a history of being soft, innocuous, and sweet. Such versions may be fine with Asian chicken salad with a sesame-ginger-honey dressing. And they can be pleasing to sip ice cold in the heat of a summer evening.</p><p>But dry rieslings, which are becoming more and more mainstream from smaller producers, can be overwhelmingly charming wines. It may take a bit of getting used to, but when you pair a dry wine with poached seafood, the flavors can be alluring.</p><p>Moreover, these days the influx of great, reasonably priced Australian rieslings offer us a chance to get wines with the structure to age for a few years. </p><p>Almost all are dry and made with bracing acidity.</p><p>Terrific dry and medium-dry rieslings are being made in California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Ohio, New York, and even places like Colorado and Wisconsin(!).</p><p>But I don’t blame consumers for bypassing these superb wines when the wineries are not cooperating by telling us all how sweet (or dry) the wines are.</p><p>The International Riesling Foundation (www.DrinkRiesling.com), a nonprofit organization in which I’m a member, now offers wineries a free sweetness chart they can use on their labels.</p><p>The chart will inform consumers what sort of wine is inside the bottle, and should help people gain access to one of the world’s greatest wine grapes.</p><p><CF103>Wine of the Week:</CF> 2008 Jacob’s Creek Riesling, South Eastern Australia ($9) — Minerals (like slate), lime and a hint of petroleum (perfect varietal character!) in a relatively dry wine that needs food to best express its succulence. Great value.</p><p>Dan Berger lives in Sonoma County, where he publishes “Vintage Experiences,” a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at danberger@rocketmail.com.</p>