🍷 Medium-dry wine
Also known as: off-dry wine
Wine with a light sweetness, where a little sugar remains.
Medium-dry wine has a light sweetness. During fermentation the yeast used up almost all the grape sugar, but some remained. Under EU rules a medium-dry still wine may contain up to 12 g of sugar per litre, or up to 18 g per litre when acidity is high. Acidity balances the sweetness, so the wine tastes fresh rather than cloying.
It sits between dry wine and medium-sweet wine. In English you may see it labelled medium dry or off-dry; German bottles say halbtrocken or feinherb, Italian ones abboccato, French ones demi-sec.
Fermentation can be stopped by chilling or filtering, or sugar can be added afterwards where the rules allow it. Rieslings, Loire whites, sparkling wines and many inexpensive wines are often medium-dry. Such wine goes well with spicy Asian food, cheese and dishes with sweetish sauces.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Medium-dry wine → kind of → 🍯 Wine sweetness → kind of → 🍷 Types of wine → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍯 Wine sweetness
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Dry wine, 🍷 Medium-sweet wine, 🍷 Abboccato
Frequently asked questions
How does the acidity affect the taste of an off-dry wine?
Acidity balances the sweetness, so the wine tastes fresh rather than cloying.
Is it true that medium-dry wine always has added sugar?
No. Fermentation can be stopped by chilling or filtering, so some grape sugar stays; sugar is added afterwards only where the rules allow.
How do the French label medium-dry wine?
Demi-sec.
Guides
Similar
🍷 Residual sugar · 🍷 Dry wine · 🍷 Medium-sweet wine · 🍷 Amabile · 🍷 Trocken · 🍷 Moelleux
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.