Elevated sugar levels in wine will dramatically alter the style and flavour of what’s in your glass.ARNAUD FINISTRE/AFP/Getty Images
Considering the ongoing discourse about health and drinking, the wine reviews we publish now list the levels for alcohol and residual sweetness to help consumers choose wines that they like. As a wine educator, I have provided those details to students to be clear and specific when discussing the qualities of the wines tasted. Readers can use those details to potentially avoid disappointment.
If you enjoy dry red wines (typically between 2 and 7 g/L residual sweetness) and unwittingly purchase a popular commercial brand with 18 g/L or more, you’d likely be less than impressed.
The alcohol level of a wine is a function of grape growing; riper grapes with more sugar produce wines with more alcohol. Higher alcohol levels will enhance flavour perception and contribute to the perceived sensation of sweetness and body. A high-octane wine can also contribute warmth and bitter notes on the palate.
Styles of chardonnay from warmer parts of Australia or California typically have 13.5 to 15 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) and will taste fuller and heavier than ones produced in cool climates (which usually contain between 12 and 13 per cent ABV). The same goes for ripe and robust reds, such as cabernet from Napa Valley, malbec from Mendoza or shiraz from Barossa, compared to polished and elegant bottles from moderate climates.
Other components in a glass of wine, especially glycerol and residual sugars (sugar that was not converted into alcohol during fermentation), can contribute to the perception of body or weight. Many people find it more challenging to describe a wine’s texture or mouthfeel – a word like moist that gives some people the ick – than its aroma because the impression is difficult to break down into singular sensations. (A sensory scientist would step in here and say there is little scientific evidence to explain what body or mouthfeel is exactly.)
I am more concerned about wines with higher-than-normal sweetness levels than alcohol levels. Residual sweetness has crept up in many American (and other international) red wines in the past decade, from the typical 2 to 4 g/L found in wines considered to be dry styles to 18 to 20+ g/L to produce smooth and concentrated wines to consumers – it’s a bid to convert beer and spirits drinkers to bold and flavourful wine styles.
There are health implications to consider, but my rationale for flagging elevated sugar levels in wine is because it dramatically alters the style and flavour of what’s in your glass. To my taste, these concentrated wine-style beverages are too sweet to be enjoyable. For others, these are the only styles of red wines they will drink.
