Learn Wine, One Glass at a Time
Somm Scribe is a practical wine education blog designed to help you taste with confidence. From understanding wine labels and regions to learning how flavor, oak, and structure work together, each guide is built to make wine more approachable — one glass at a time.
Why Some Wines Taste Fruity: Even When They Aren’t Sweet
One of the biggest surprises for new wine drinkers is discovering that a wine can taste fruity without actually being sweet. You’ll smell strawberries in a completely dry rosé, ripe peach in a crisp Albariño, or blackberry jam in a Cabernet that has zero sugar in it. So what’s going on? Why do dry wines smell and taste like fruit? The short answer: fruitiness isn’t sweetness. The long answer is what we’ll explore here.
Wine Sweetness Levels Explained: Bone Dry to Sweet
Sweetness is one of the first things people notice about wine — yet it’s also one of the most misunderstood. A wine can be labeled “dry” and still taste fruity. Another can contain actual sugar but still feel refreshing. And then there are all the terms like off-dry, Brut, or late harvest, which seem like they belong in a glossary. This guide breaks everything down simply so you can understand what sweetness actually means, how it changes the way a wine tastes, and how to recognize where a wine sits on the spectrum.
What Makes a Wine “Dry”? (And Why It Matters)
“Dry wine” is one of the most misunderstood terms in all of wine. Many people think dry means tannic, bitter, or not fruity — but that’s not actually what “dry” means at all. This guide clears it up in plain English so you know exactly what to expect when a wine is described as dry, off-dry, or sweet. When you understand dryness, choosing wine (and logging your tastings in Somm Scribe) becomes way easier.