wine preferences

[barryjo]

We are told that the more sophisticated wine consumers become, the more they like the dryer wines. Has anyone seen a breakdown of consumers versus wine dryness/sweetness?
What percentage drink sweet , semisweet, semidry and dry?
My own gut feeling is that probably 80% of wine drinkers are the occasional ones. Maybe 3-4 times a year. And they would be ordering a semisweet wine.
Any input on this would be most enlightening.
Thank You

 

[Runningwolf]

I think I kind of agree with you on all. The more wine you drink, over time you tend to go dryer but maybe not mouth wenching dry.
If a winery (and I know a few) tries to go totally upscale and do all big red dry wines, soon find out if they don't change quick they'll go broke. Did you know even wineries in California is throwing a bit of sugar in their reds. You don't have to report it if you stay under.5% rs.

 

[Deezil]

I was doing some reading a few weeks ago about marketing and sales on wines from Washington state and it was something like 92% of the wines sold are under $12/bottle & something like 80%+ of that was atleast semi-sweet if not sweeter.. I'll have to see if i can find the paper again, i think it was a wine business monthly article.

Everyday wine drinkers have a palette that matures but occasional drinkers have a palette that would mature at a slower pace, making the sweeter wines more enjoyable for a longer period.

It's also influenced by some other facets of modern society / America.. Almost everything here is sickly-sweet compared to some overseas stuff - candy comes to mind, soft drinks, even our "juice".. We have a sweeter palette, because we eat way too much sugar in everything, which inclines the national palette more towards sweet wines

 

[Runningwolf]

Along with what Manley said, there is a difference in wine preference in regards to sweetness between people who drink regular soft drinks and those who drink unsweetened.

 

[deboard]

I've had several wineries tell me that their biggest sellers by far are sweet wines. The winemakers themselves would prefer to make big dry reds, but most of their customers prefer the sweet ones, and the sweeter the better. Most of my friends and family prefer sweet wines as well. I'm all alone with my big dry red, which is not a bad place to be I guess.

But I have not seen any actual statistics, just anecdotes from wineries and my own experience. It would be very interesting to see this data though. My guess is that it varies by country quite a bit, but the U.S. is skewed far to the sweet side.

 

[Sammyk]

Maybe there should be a poll on this? Allow 2 votes per person since most are "couples". Here - one prefers sweet and the other dry to semi-sweet. So I keep inverted sugar in the fridge at all times. Easier to add sugar to the glass.
Then there is my brother who told me he never met a wine he did not like!

 

[Thig]

I have at least one glass of wine every night but even then I have had some wines that were too dry for me. I just finished a bottle of Bell Claret Cabernet Sauvignon and swore I would never buy it again. My personal favorite is a reserve or tawny port so I guess you could say I prefer sweeter wines but the higher alcohol content in the port sort of mask the sweetness.

 

[TahunaJR]

I must say that all I have read in this thread has been a reflection of my own experience. My wife is a semi-sweet wine drinker. When we go to dinner and she is interested in wine she looks to me and I accommodate her tastes. Early on I assumed she would enjoy what I enjoyed. Experience taught us well.

My preference is dry. Dry as dry could be. I possibly developed this taste from my Italian dad who enjoyed bone dry reds and would share with me as a youngster. In fact, we started the winemaking hobby together after he received a winemaking paperback as a gift and I was 16.

Now for my confession. I love DRY reds, but here it comes, I like them chilled or on the rocks. Why? Well, that's how my dad and his dad drank red wines. I get all kinds of looks when I am out and ask for a side of ice because none of the bartenders will serve it on the rocks.

Ok, I said it and to be honest, I feel a lot better now that I got that off my chest! Forgive me Father, for I have...

 

[Runningwolf]

TahunaJR, LOL great story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[eblasmn9]

I have at least one glass of wine every night but even then I have had some wines that were too dry for me. I just finished a bottle of Bell Claret Cabernet Sauvignon and swore I would never buy it again. My personal favorite is a reserve or tawny port so I guess you could say I prefer sweeter wines but the higher alcohol content in the port sort of mask the sweetness.

I also have a glass of wine every night and for a lot years liked an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon in the fruit bomb style. Now I am more like the brother who likes every wine,but I like some more than others.
I am starting to appreciate a dryer wine but not quite there yet (almost).
As far as a tawny port, now your talking.

 

[barryjo]

TahunaJR, LOL great story. Thanks for sharing.

You notice he wears shades and didn't give his real? HMMMMM!

 

[ibglowin]

I think a LOT of people drink wine at parties/get togethers etc and they are just sippin' mostly so an off dry wine goes down easier than a dry tannic wine. The biggest growing varietal of the past several years is Moscato (definitely an off dry wine). The Millennium Generation is buying TONS of it. Its like White Zin was back in the late 70's or early 80's.

I only have wine with meals usually so I prefer dry wines that pair well with whatever is on the menu. I have found I love off dry whites with spicy foods (asian cuisine etc) Just that little bit of residual sweetness with the heat in the food is a killer combo.

 

[robie]

I agree with Runningwolf about the California wineries adding just a touch of sugar to their big reds. I have a pretty sensitive taste, so I can pick up on it right away and don't much appreciate it. If it's supposed to be dry, adding that touch of sugar is nothing more than giving the American public another shot of to what so many Americans are addicted. I don't think it improves the taste at al, but that's just my opinion.

I like to watch cooking shows on PBS. I am starting to notice lots of cooks are adding sugar to recipes that normally would never include it.

I like a semi-dry Riesling, as a porch pounder and as a paring. The difference is that Riesling states it is semi-dry and the sugar is not there just to satisfy a sweet tooth.

I like both reds and Chardonnays. I probably drink 5 reds to every 1 Chardonnay.

Night before last the wife and I celebrated the refi. of our home by opening a top-shelf wine, which I had set back for a special occasion. (I keep such quality wines on the top shelf, away from regular wines, thus the reference to "top shelf".) It was a 2008 Bodegas Paso Robles El Pimentiero, made with Toursseau (pepper) and Tempranillo (spice). That wine was so delicious I can still vividly remember the exact taste and aroma. Very few wines, which I can afford, ever have such a special aroma as that one.

 

[LonelyMassachusetts]

I tend to enjoy sweeter wines as well. I agree that with more experience wine drinkers can enjoy the flavors of many more wine styles than before, but I am skeptical to believe that someone will grow out of disliking tartness in dry wines. Maybe I will prove this to myself one day

 

[Rocky]

My preference is dry red wine, probably because that is what I was raised drinking. My family made a blend of Zinfandel and Muscat that was fermented to dry (very high in alcohol) and it was excellent with the heavily tomato sauced Italian meals we had, balancing the sweetness of the tomato. Even in whites which I will drink on occasion, I prefer the dryer Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc. No right answer to this, just like when I was growing up, some guys were Chevy guys and some were Ford guys.

 

[deboard]

The first wine that I liked a lot was a Riesling, probably more sweet than semi-sweet. I refer to it now as a 'gateway' wine. This was in 2009, and before that I hated wine, especially dry wine. However, over the next 3-4 months my tastes headed towards dry pretty quickly. Once I learned to taste those subtle flavors in dry reds, sweet wines started tasting just sweet.

 

[pjd]

When I first discovered wine it was Riunite Lambrusco, a decent sweet red wine. At that time my favorite beer was Coors Light. I started making wine in 2010 and after many batches i found that I liked drier wines. Today I like a really dry Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec and my taste in beer has changed to a Stout or an IPA.
That being said, My guests nearly always prefer a sweet white, Riesling or Moscato and they still prefer Coors Light to my assortment of wonderful home brews.

 

[Runningwolf]

Something to keep in mind that I did. Knowing how this trend works with wine drinkers, while I still liked semi to sweet wine I started to make a few big reds. The only reason was knowing how they get better after several years, it was no worry making and trying to age them.Today I am making more reds then whites.