Comments on: How can something wet be dry? http://vinofictions.com/2008/08/01/how-can-something-wet-be-dry/ the blog that proves "in vino veritas" Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:32:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Thomas http://vinofictions.com/2008/08/01/how-can-something-wet-be-dry/#comment-1280 Thomas Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:31:33 +0000 http://vinofictions.com/2008/08/01/how-can-something-wet-be-dry/#comment-1280 Andrew, I don't think any chart matters to anyone but a wine geek, which represents about 5% of the wine-buying public. In my view, if the industry wants to tell the remaining 95% something, it should tell them what the wine goes with (food wise) and what it is intended for (dinner, sipping, dessert, etc.). This is a case where too much information leads to no information. As you say, using a word like smooth is confusing--using a sugar chart is as confusing, simply because most people don't know their own capacity to take or leave sugar, and they certainly have no clue concerning the relationship between acid and sugar. The day that consumers beg for a sugar chart on their cola bottle or their packaged foods is the day that wine will have to provide a sugar chart. Andrew, I don’t think any chart matters to anyone but a wine geek, which represents about 5% of the wine-buying public.

In my view, if the industry wants to tell the remaining 95% something, it should tell them what the wine goes with (food wise) and what it is intended for (dinner, sipping, dessert, etc.).

This is a case where too much information leads to no information. As you say, using a word like smooth is confusing–using a sugar chart is as confusing, simply because most people don’t know their own capacity to take or leave sugar, and they certainly have no clue concerning the relationship between acid and sugar.

The day that consumers beg for a sugar chart on their cola bottle or their packaged foods is the day that wine will have to provide a sugar chart.

]]> By: Andrew Connor http://vinofictions.com/2008/08/01/how-can-something-wet-be-dry/#comment-1278 Andrew Connor Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:21:49 +0000 http://vinofictions.com/2008/08/01/how-can-something-wet-be-dry/#comment-1278 It seems to me that the difficult thing to communicate on the label is how the residual sugar and the acidity of the wine combine to give the impression of sweetness or lack thereof. I prospose a sort of pie-chart with the sugar in (say) red at the top and the acid in green at the bottom. Each style of wine from Mosel kabinett to Pfalz grosses gewachs would have a characteristic shape. On the subject of wording, one that winds me up is 'smooth' what does that mean? For some people it seems to be low in acid, others low in tannin, others fruity. It seems literally meaningless to me It seems to me that the difficult thing to communicate on the label is how the residual sugar and the acidity of the wine combine to give the impression of sweetness or lack thereof.

I prospose a sort of pie-chart with the sugar in (say) red at the top and the acid in green at the bottom. Each style of wine from Mosel kabinett to Pfalz grosses gewachs would have a characteristic shape.

On the subject of wording, one that winds me up is ’smooth’

what does that mean? For some people it seems to be low in acid, others low in tannin, others fruity. It seems literally meaningless to me

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