Finding the Off-Dry Wine Sweet Spot

WINE TALK
1

Berserkers,

Following up my thread on my own changing palate, I’ve taken the plunge – or should that be the drop – from full-on sweet wine all the way to off-dry.

I’ve acquired some Alsace, Vouvray, Kabinett and local Ontario Estate Bottled Riesling wines that all clock in at RS levels below the 50 g/L point. For reference, the previously least sweet wines in my collection were late harvest wines (100 g/L) and very rich Alsace Gewurztraminers that really should be classified as dessert wines (67 g/L).

The wines and their sugar levels are as follows:

Marcel Deiss 07 Grasberg 36 g/L
Marcel Deiss 07 Gruenspiel 30 g/L
Domaine D’Orfeuille Les Coudraies 12 Vouvray 31 g/L
Bollig-Lehnert 2011 Kabinett 38 g/L
Jakob Schneider 2011 Kabinett 49 g/L
Giesen 2012 Marlborough Riesling 38 g/L
Fielding 2012 Estate Bottled Riesling 41 g/L

You’ve read me post before about how sweet wines should go with savory dishes and not dessert, but I see how most board members here would balk at overwhelming their meals with the sweetness of an icewine or late harvest, for example, and think that off-dry wines are a perfect compromise.

Seems to me that the 30-40 g/L is the perfect range for an off-dry wine. It’s got just enough sweetness to enhance the aromatics and flavors of the wine, has ample enough alcohol to support the body (unlike most Spatleses which clock in at 9% or less) yet is dry enough to complement all types of dishes.

I’m looking forward to trying these out in the coming weeks with cuisine. I know the Gruenspiel is awesome already. Let’s see how they all do now. I will report back on these.

2

Hate using g/l too much as acidity and grape variety can alter the ‘sense of sweetness’. Gewurztraminer tends to be overly obvious even at lower RS, while Chenin can be sneaky about hiding it. Many of the NZ Rieslings seem to be sweeter than their Alsatian counterparts to my taste for some reason as well.

3

I had a Vouvray with snacks (Pate, crackers and cheese) at about the same sugar levels of the one you are going to taste and it was terrific!! I think you’ll find that an off dry Chenin Blanc goes very well with a lot of different food.

4

Don’t think you can always correlate the measured residual sugar in a wine and the perception of sweetness. High acid wines can complicate the picture, things like Riesling and Madeira.