Residual Sugar in wine

Winemakers have used residual sugar to equal wine's shortcomings for years. In Oregon, Pinot Gris is the "dry" wine that often contains enough residual sugar to add mouth-feel, but not enough to really perceive sweetness. Sugar levels are all over the place in the "dry" wines of Alsace, with some noticeably sweeter wines from quality producers. Adept winemaking can use sugar to bring balance and viscosity without the perception of sweetness, but it is also used to mask a flaw or something unpleasant, but less than a flaw.

That is the case with the 2005 Chateau St. Michelle Riesling-Columbia Valley. I talked about this wine in a previous post as being a great value with a beautiful floral character in the nose. I also said the wine was slightly astringent on the finish. The small amount of residual sugar in this wine masks the astringency. In fact I was surprised to learn it had as much residual sugar as it does 1.8gl. But the fact that the sugar was doing its job became crystal clear when I tried the 2005 Chateau St. Michelle Dry Riesling. This is obviously the same wine, same nose, just fermented to near dryness-.65gl. It's has the same pretty nose of its counterpart, but with a bitter finish. Still an enjoyable wine and you can almost find the bitterness adds leg nth if you think hard enough. I think the dry Riesling isn't as well balanced and it is a clear example of how balance works in wines.

After drinking these perfectly enjoyable wines, but simple wines, its refreshing to drink something with character. Its even more refreshing to not have to pay much for it. I was turned onto a bottle of the Meyer-Fonne 2003 Pinot Blanc, Ville Vignes from Alsace by a local wine steward from QFC. You can really tell when a person passionate about wine runs the wine section in a supermarket. It actually gives me a reason to go to a QFC which I would normally take a pass on. But this was such a great wine, with stone fruit aromas and a mineral component that really held my interest. It is also nicely balance with a good finish. I don't know anything in Oregon Pinot Blanc that would come close to providing this kind of experience for so little a price. This is a wine that you can actually taste terroir. Not bad for 12 dollars.