Why do some people think Pinot Grigio is sweet???

Can anyone tell me why so many people have this notion that Pinot Grigio is sweet? Today, someone who most probably drinks mass market type wine told me that she usually drinks Chardonnay (KJ and the like definitely have some noticeable residual sugar, of course) and Sauvignon Blanc (ditto for lots of mass produced NZ examples coming to the US market), but that some friends suggested she bring over some Pinot Grigio and she wanted something that wouldn’t be “sickeningly sweet”. Fortunately, I had a Pinot Grigio open that she could taste so I could then talk to her about what she wanted relative to that wine rather than addressing her question directly, but I’ve heard this kind of thing many times before, and I can’t figure out why. I don’t find any Pinot Grigio I’ve had (from Italy) to be any sweeter (often less sweet, in fact) than the price equivalent of one of these categories that’s accepted as “dry”. I understand that many people have different definitions of these words, but I can’t see it from any angle. There’s usually less fruit in PG as well. Was there a time in the past when Italy was pumping out truly sweet PG? What else could be the cause of this? I’ve even heard a restaurant server refer to some white wine as “drier than Pinot Grigio”. I’m not trying to demean anyone or anything like that; I just want to understand.

I don’t have that notion.

Maybe it’s just a number of people I happen to have encountered who don’t represent a significant portion of the population, but I’ve heard it enough times that I’m really starting to wonder.

Many people confuse fruit with RS and, when there is no oaky astringency to offset it, they say the wine is sweet.

Worse yet, some people will say that a BONE dry Riesling or Muskat SMELLS sweet. You can’t smell sugar. What they are saying is that it smells LIKE some things that ARE sweet.

I hear stuff like this about lots of whites and roses all the time, especially in tasting rooms. “No, I only drink reds. Whites are too sweet.”

I think it has to do with the types of fruits that come through. I have bone dry roses in my cellar that I have served to people whom I’ve asked to close their eyes… every last one of them could not tell me that it was a rose and no one ever said it’s too sweet. But as soon as I serve them another just as dry without asking them to close their eyes it’s the same old “too sweet” bs.

I’ve found that if a casual drinker doesn’t like the wine, they claim it’s sweet.

I think a lot of it has to tie in with acidity, or lack thereof. Mass marketed Pinot Grigio tends to be very soft and fruity when you get away from the better quality areas like Friuli or Alto Adige. The mass marketed stuff tends to be so neutral the fruit tastes sweeter than it would otherwise. It’s similar to how Merlot became neutered in so many people’s eyes.

I agree with what you’re saying about mistaking fruit for sweetness, and I’ve seen it a lot, including the “smells sweet” comment. I guess maybe it is that without a bunch of oak (Chardonnay) or vegetal character (Sauvignon Blanc), the first thing someone smells and tastes is fruit, and even if there isn’t much of it, they think “sweet”. It makes more sense than anything else I’ve come up with, which is no more really than “WTF?”.

Thanks for the other interesting comments as well.

Kellie, I kind of wonder if it might be the types of fruits rather than their intensity. Beyond that, the rest of your comment seems to match up with what Andrew is saying, which I also have witnessed, like the time recently when two people in front of me buying off-dry wines that they’ve had and liked told me the bone-dry, less fruity wine they were tasting was too sweet. I can understand that a lot of people don’t like the average, even above average Italian Pinot Grigio; I don’t (I have had a few that I really do like, but very few).

Matthew, I agree that they’re doing something to make sure mass market PG isn’t too acidic, but I think most of it has hardly any fruit to speak of as well, with your use of the term “neutral” exactly fitting. I guess without acid or anything else, maybe people will notice even the slightest hint (which is all there usually is in the really cheap ones) of fruit. Thinking about what people have experienced, Santa Margherita has very little fruit, but Kris has actually quite a bit, but there is a reasonable amount of acidity. Cavit has really almost none, but probably not much acidity either. Maybe people are calling what we would call “flabby”, instead “sweet”.

I’m sure I’m reading too much into it, but I like to try to understand consumers. This is one of the only times I’ve been so bewildered. It’s probably a combination of things, but I think people have helped me to understand it at least somewhat, which is much better than before. I’m interested to see if others have other ideas.

I think that each of the above reasons is part of the explanation.

I serve dry, VERY tart white wines and Rosés with fruit aroma and some claim they are sweet. Smells like something sweet means it is sweet is very common.

Another factor could be that some of the cheaper ones (others perhaps, too) might actually be slightly sweet. Lots of commercially available white wine is between .4-.6% RS. I test other wines for RS and am surprised from time to time with how much is there. Reds included.

I consider .2% or less to be dry.

Couldn’t agree more!!! I hear this all the time. Fruit = sweet for a VERY large number of people.

Well, this isn’t going to help any:

That’s actually a bag in the box full of Pinot Grigio.

Yeah, and I’m quite familiar with that, but this recent person said she usually drinks Sauvignon Blanc. Considering the popularity of New Zealand SB’s and their usually extreme intensity of fruit, I have to think she didn’t mean “sweet” in that way.

Ding, ding, we have a winner.

If you don’t have the equipment to do an RS test (how many retailers actually do?), look at the ABV on most cheap PG and you’ll see a number floating around 11%. At that ABV, there’s residual sugar in the wine. I’m guessing some may actually come in above the 1% mark.

The “equipment” is not much. A Clinitest pill test kit works just fine.

Some wines that don’t taste sweet to many people are and some that do are not. Without a test, it is difficult to calibrate with regard to what a person is tasting, IMHO.

Yes, some are above 1% and even some of those can fool informed people if the acid is extreme.

Don’t a lot of bulk Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs have similar levels of residual sugar?

That can be one indication, but a lot of bulk producers also use concentrate in higher alcohol wines, so there might be sweetness along with higher alcohol.

Had it happen again just yesterday with a Lake County wine that is 56% Pinot Grigio, 31% Sauvignon Blanc, 13% Gewürztraminer. Female customer, late 30-ish, tried a taste and said it was “too sweet”. Residual Sugar: 0.8%. Very sensitive palate or fruitiness = sweet?

IMHO, it is not necessarily a choice between your 2 options. 0.8% RS is plenty of sugar to make a wine taste too sweet, depending on the person and lots of other factors. Particularly if it has low/moderate acid. Aromas and alc. also affect the perception. What was the stated alc? Did they give any other specs on the the wine? TA? pH?

This is from the fact sheet:

TA: 6.5/ml
PH: 3.2
Alcohol: 13.3%
Residual Sugar: 0.8%

I know my palate is not as sensitive as my wife’s, so I generally suspect my own reaction, but this wine is pretty straight forward. I find it “citrus-y” and crisp, so I presume that’s mostly the acid; and it is “fruity”. Really interested in the relationship between the other factors.