explain to me the goods of dry

[chef koo]

i'm the type of guy who's not a big fan of dry really chalky feeling tannic wines. i might love the taste but i hate that feeling you get in your mouth. i honestly can't understand how anyone can. to me a beverage should quench your thirst as a primary use and flavour as a secondary. so what is it about dry wines that turn you on?

[joiei]

I recommend Jancis Robinson's book How To Taste to answer your questions. I have learned more about what I am tasting from this book than any lectures I have ever been to. She explains all that mysterious stuff and why you taste what your tasting.

[Daniel Rogov]

I am reminded of how years ago when talking about "dry" wines, someone looked at me, quite confused and commented that he thought all wines were wet.

Tannins and dryness have nothing whatever to do one with the other. Tannins are a form of acidity that do add astringency, a puckering sensation, and possibly the "chalky" reaction that you report. Dryness deals entirely with the level of sugar in a wine. You might, for example, find a sweet red wine absolutely loaded with tannins - there is simply no contradiction there.

As to why people enjoy wines that are dry - first of all, not all do, for wines that are dry are, by virtue of being less sweet than semi-dry wines, more bitter and bitterness is a taste that develops (put a drop of angostura bitters on the tongue of an infant and it will burst out in tears; put a drop of honey there and it will gurgle and giggle). Once one adopts a taste for bitterness however, it tends to be somewhat addictive, not contradicting the need for sweetness but adding a new dimension of desired flavor.

As to the comment that "beverage should quench your thirst as a primary use and flavour as a secondary".....let me respectfully disagree for even though that may be true with many beverages it is certainly not the case with most alcoholic drinks. Not that people drink these to become blotto but because alcohol taken in moderation adds an element of pleasure, heightens the sensitivity of the palate and because matches so well with food. If ever we get to the point where we start drinking even the finest wines to quench our thirst, we are surely going to be in deep trouble from both an aesthetic and health point of view. I'm all for mineral water on the dinner table alongside the bottle of wine. I am not nearly as enthusiastic of the bottle of diet sprite or lemonade.

[Brad Ballinger]

I would also add to Daniel's comments that dry wines (wines with very little or no residual sugar) can show more complexity and dimension that would otherwise be masked by sweetness.

I realize this is a generalization, and there are many semi-sweet and sweet wines whose complexity blows some dry wines away. But many of the grapes that are used to make the wines that dominate the shelves in wine shops worldwide make better dry wines than sweet wines (how many late harvest wines made from cabernet sauvignon have you seen?). Very few grapes (such as riesling) can excel in dry, off-dry, and sweet end-products.

Also, alcohol (and carbon dioxide) is a by-product of sugar and yeast. For dry wines, nearly all the sugar present in the grapes at harvest is converted into alcohol. Non-dry wines are made from grapes harvested later with higher sugar content where not all the sugar is converted into alcohol. And some grape varieties just can't hang on the vines that long without going bad.

This isn't the complete answer to the question. Again, I'm merely adding to Daniel's excellent comments.

[Rebel Rose]

There is also the enjoyment one receives from pairing a dry, perhaps slightly tannic wine with fatty or rich foods. A dry cabernet or syrah goes so well with the sweet fats dripping from an end piece of prime rib, or the nicely seared crusty fat on a lambsicle--the fat girds your palate to receive the wine, and the wine cleanses your palate of excess fat--so you can go back and forth, back and forth . . .

[David McDuff]

While everyone has offered up some excellent responses to this oft asked question, I think Mary really gets to the main point. What makes tannic wines feel so dry and what purpose do they serve in the great world of wine enjoyment?

Tannic acid literally attacks the layer of mucous (moisture, lubricant) that normally coats the human mouth. Drink a tannic wine on its own and it strips your mouth of its natural protective layers. Drink a tannic wine with a meal rich in fats and proteins and, instead of attacking your mouth's moisture, the wine will simply cut through the residue of fat left on your palate by the food: a perfect example of balancing food and wine textures.

What's the end solution? If you don't enjoy tannic reds on their own, save them for red meat based meals and enjoy softer, juicier, lower tannin reds on their own or with "lighter" meals.

[chef koo]

so would you say that wines on the drier side or more suited for eating with rather than just drinking on their own?

[Daniel Rogov]

so would you say that wines on the drier side or more suited for eating with rather than just drinking on their own?

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To cite an old song..."It ain't necessarily so". Some highly tannic wines (e.g. traditionally made Amarone) are indeed best on their own and are even thought of as "contemplation wines", and when paired with food, probably best only with something like fine cheeses.

Also worth keeping in mind that most wines are at their best with foods, the wine and the food serving to highlight the charms, flavor and texture one of the other. This of course based on making the right match between the food and wine. I agree, no need to build a new set of stones carved on Sinai as to which wines go with which foods, much being up to personal taste, but no question that some wines and foods do go far better than might others...... But that a topic not for a thread but for either a book, a doctoral dissertation or a six month long course.

Best,

Rogov

[Rebel Rose]

But that a topic not for a thread but for either a book, a doctoral dissertation or a six month long course.

So you should get started right away, chef koo!

[joiei]

Mary and David, thank you , thank you , thank you. I think I now understand this one aspect. See, I did learn something today.

[David McDuff]

Mary and David,  thank you , thank you , thank you.  I think I now understand this one aspect.  See, I did learn something today. 

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I'm glad to have helped, joiei. Cheers!

[foolcontrol]

Great information. That really helped me out.