Since I mentioned recently that Yellow Tail Shiraz is not a totally dry wine (it has some residual sugar), I've had queries about what this means and the significance of sugar in wine.
Part of it is straightforward. Wine is produced by fermentation, which transforms the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol: as the juice ferments, the sugar level falls and the alcohol level rises. If all the sugar is fermented out and the finished wine has no residual sugar it's called "dry." Wines that contain a little residual sugar can be called "off-dry" or "semi-sweet," and wines with more sugar fall into the "medium" and "sweet" categories.
The LCBO sugar code - those numbers from 0 to 30 and higher on the shelf labels - is based on the percentage of residual sugar in the wine. Most red wines are 0, ports tend to be 8 to 12, and late harvest dessert wines shoot to 20 and higher.
Measuring sugar is one thing, but describing it is something else. First, we all have different tolerances of sweetness: what's sickly sweet to one person is pleasant to another. It's a matter of perception.
Second, sugar is only one component in wine, and our perception of a wine's sweetness depends on how it relates to other components, especially acidity.
As a general rule, higher acidity reduces perceived sweetness.
Take wines with high residual sugar, like icewine. Without a good dose of acidity, icewine would be cloyingly, sickeningly sweet and almost undrinkable. Reviews of icewines often mention acidity because it's so important in reducing perceived sweetness.
The point is that the acidity doesn't reduce the level of residual sugar; it affects our perception of it.
To this extent, the measurable amount of residual sugar in any wine doesn't really tell us how we're going to experience it. Depending on the other components, a wine rated 1 or 2 in sugar might taste more or less dry, more or less sweet.
Even so, the LCBO makes an effort. It describes wines rated 0 as "very dry," those rated 1 or 2 as "dry," those rated 3 to 6 as "medium," and wines rated 7 and higher as "sweet." It's a tricky system, though. Cave Spring Off-Dry Riesling is listed as a 2, which makes it "dry" in the LCBO system.
So is Cave Spring's delicious Riesling (LCBO No. 234583, and one of my favourites) dry or off-dry? It depends on your perception and also what you eat with it. Sweetness in wine is also neutralized to some extent by sweetness in food, which can come from vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes, or ingredients such as honey and sugar.
Some readers ask me to include the sugar code in the information that goes with my wine reviews, but I'm reluctant to. People tend to shy away from wines they think aren't dry.
The point is, sugar content is only one part of any wine's texture and flavour and, to that extent, judging a wine by its sugar code can be misleading.
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Zola's Restaurant at 194 Robertson Rd. will host a charity wine dinner to support the Ottawa Senators Foundation on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The event will feature the wines of Henry of Pelham, one of Niagara's pre-eminent wineries. For information and tickets at $75, call Ian Anderson at 612-4245.
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The annual California Wine Fair is a must-attend event for Ottawa wine lovers. This year's edition takes place on Friday, April 2, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the ballroom of the Westin Ottawa Hotel. More than 70 top California producers will pour 250 premium wines. The $50 ticket covers all tastings. For information and tickets, phone 1-800-558-2675 (CORK) or visit the website at www.calwine.com.
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Two reds, two whites, four styles in today's line-up.