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In German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) common name for a certain content of residual sugar in wine, the optional on label can be cited. That is up to 4 g / l or up to 9 g / l, provided that total acidity is at most 2 g lower than the residual sugar. This means that with 9 g / l of residual sugar, for example, the total acidity must be at least 7 g / l. This acidity regulation has a practical meaning since it is higher acidity the sweetness is less noticed. When dry sparkling wine, where a distinctly different taste sensation due to the sparkling carbonic acid the residual sugar may even be between 17 and 32 g / l (which, by the way, already means for a still wine lovely ).
In the opinion of many experts, a lower level up to 4 g / l would make sense legally, because the range up to 9 g / l is much too large. Austria used the level until accession to the EU extra dry, but could not prevail with the desire for an EU-wide regulation. There are also designations that are not relevant under wine law Franconian dry. classic dry and Austrian dry with a maximum of 4 g / l as well internationally dry (harmoniously dry). The lower limit of residual sugar that can be achieved is around 0.1 g / l. So there is no wine, none at all sugar contains more. See for all flavors at Still wine from dry to sweet under sugar content as well as regarding sparkling wine / champagne under sparkling wine,
A frequently asked question is what is the origin of the term “dry”, which may seem strange for a liquid (by the way, when roasting food, this means the absence of fat and cooking oil). However, wine is not about the physical property of lack of liquid, but about how much residual sugar is present. In the fermentation becomes sugar in alcohol and carbon dioxide converted (although this is never completely possible), so that the rough rule of thumb applies: the less sugar, the more alcohol. Alcohol is chemically hydrophilic (water-loving), which means it is very good at water soluble, thus binds water and even removes it from its surroundings. Something that lacks water is called dry. The alcohol in the wine therefore leaves a rather dry feeling in the mouth because it draws water from the mucous membrane. The lower the residual sugar content, the stronger this effect can be felt.
In the "German Dictionary by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm", which was created from 1836 and only ended long after the death of the authors in 1961, the following can be read under "dry" in relation to wine: In glossaries of the 14th and 15th centuries, "is dropping." "Or" trucking "the common name of a handled, kahmigen Wine that is high in acetic acid has. Above all, acidic, tart, contracting liquids are considered dry and the term is also used to refer to a fermented wine in which the sugar has been converted into alcohol, which has a tart, sour taste.