In German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) common name for a certain content residual sugar in wine, optional on label can be cited. These are up to 4 g / l or 9 g / l, if the total acidity at most 2 g lower than the residual sugar. This means that, for example, at 9 g / l of residual sugar, the total acid must have at least 7 g / l. This acidity has a practical meaning, as with higher acidity the sweetness is less perceived. In dry sparkling wine where a distinctly different taste sensation through the sparkling carbonic acid is given, the residual sugar may even be between 17 and 32 g / l (which means incidentally, in a still wine already lovely ).
In the opinion of many experts, a lower level of up to 4 g / l would make sense by law, because the range up to 9 g / l is much too large. Austria used the stage until joining the EU extra dry, but could not prevail with the desire for an EU-wide regulation. There are also the wine-legally not relevant names Franconian dry. classic dry and Austrian dry with a maximum of 4 g / l as well dry internationally (harmoniously dry). The achievable lower limit of residual sugar is about 0.1 g / l. So there is no wine, none at all sugar contains more. See for all tastes Still wine from dry to sweet under sugar content as well as regarding sparkling wine / champagne under sparkling wine,
A common question is what is the origin of the term "dry", which may seem peculiar to a liquid (by the way, this means the absence of fat and edible oil when roasting food). Wine, however, is not about the physical nature of the absence of liquid, but about how much residual sugar is present. In the fermentation becomes sugar in alcohol and carbon dioxide (but this is never completely possible), so the rough rule of thumb is: the less sugar, the more alcohol. Alcohol is chemically hydrophilic (water-loving), that is, it is very good in water soluble, thus binds water and even deprives it of its environment. Something lacking in water is called dry. The alcohol in the wine therefore leaves behind a rather dry feeling in the mouth, as it withdraws water from the mucous membrane. The lower the residual sugar content, the stronger this effect can be felt.
In the "German Dictionary of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm", which was written in 1836 and ended only long after the death of the authors in 1961, the following is to be read under "dry" in relation to wine: in glossaries of the 14th and 15th centuries is "drocken "Or" trucking "the common name of a handled, kahmigen Wine that is high in content acetic acid has. In particular, acidic, astringent, astringent liquids are considered dry and the term is also used to refer to a fermented wine in which the sugar has been converted to alcohol, which has a tart, sourish taste.
