Kris,
What PeterZ states is right on - higher tannin levels will provide that mouth drying experience (think about the face of a character in old Tom & Jerry cartoons when someone took a teaspoon of Alum in their mouth). If your specific gravity measurements are below 1.000, there's barely any sugar left in that wine.
I'd also like add that the taste and mouthfeel experience present with any wine is a balance of different flavors and taste stimuli. Young wines tend to be more fruity (which can provide the perception of sweetness). Wines that see oak have added flavors and tannins associated with oak. Wines that are made with more skin contact have a more complete extraction of the properties of the grape skins (tannins, flavor, color, etc.). In certain cultures, it is not desireable to have much fruit character - French wines, for example, generally focus more on terroir than fruit flavors.
Given all of that, here are a couple of notes from my experience to help shape a kit into more of what you would like. Firstly, if grape skins are available to add to the wine it makes a large difference. I took the pomace (pressed grape skins) from some of the Brehm pails I fermented and put them into gallon-sized Ziploc bags in the freezer, spraying K-Meta in before freezing. Then, I thawed out a bag to add to a kit I was starting when I was ready. You'll need to press the grape skins when added this way, but I definitely noticed a difference when using these homemade 'grape packs' in this fashion. Manufacturer's grape packs provide roughly 1.5L of skin/pulp/seeds, mind you. Secondly, the introduction of pre- or post-fermentation tannin as PeterZ had noted above. I have not used post-fermentation tannin additives as of yet. Thirdly, I have not noticed a change in yeast to increase the dryness factor of the wine but have noticed flavor differences. Fourthly, the use of extra or alternative oak products for adding tannins post-fermentation will increase the dryness of a wine but will also increase the oak character. I personally notice a distinct taste with oak chips, dust, and Stavin beans that takes about 18+ months to fade. Finally, I would recommend making wine from a grape product, whether with frozen raw materials like the Brehm pails or with fresh product available in the fall. You can control the skin contact periods to suit your taste and it is a great learning experience.
When I tasted my red kit wines at one year, they did not impress me. The same wines tasted at 18-24+ months were quite different. Make some more wine in the meantime and let your wines age up, tasting once a quarter or so and see what develops.
As a side note, any Dolcetto wines (most from California, mind you) that I have tasted tended to be a bit more on the fruity side and the didn't seem to be powerful, dark, red wines. These kits should still be quite nice, however.
- Jim
