Do dry wines sweeten with time?

rshosted · Jan 17, 2006

My very first wine: a merlot, by selection. I made this when I thought I 'liked' wine. Now that i've done wine for many years now, I realize I didn't know how to spell w.i.n.e., let alone, like it.

So I sweetened my Merlot with wine conditioner. I tried a bottle four or five years later (the last bottle) and it was sooooo sweet. I thought to myself how did I drink this? At the time I loved it. Did my tastes change that much, or does the wine seem to have a lasting effect and get sweeter?

I don't want to make that mistake again now that I like dry to-the-bone wines.

PolishWineP · Jan 18, 2006

I'm thinking that you tastes have evolved that much. I'm sure the wine changed from when you bottled till now, but not THAT much! We just had a bottle of one of our earlier wines and unless I was making a dessert wine I wouldn't make it that sweet. Isn't it wonderful that your wines and tastes can develop together!

Funky Fish · Jan 19, 2006

Whenever you sweeten wine before bottling- wine you're going to age, that is - be sure to add a little less "sweet" (sugar, conditioner, whatever) than to your tastes. The reason is due to the fact that the wine will seem to get sweeter with age.

Of course, this is only perception. What actually happens is that the tannins in the wine will start to mellow out after being aged. This will allow more sweetness to come through from the wine.

smurfe · Jan 20, 2006

You taste preference probably changes. Years ago, I could only drink the sweet stuff, (Mad Dog, Boone's Farm, The home made Concord stuff). Couldn't hack the dry stuff.

Today a White Zin is way too sweet for me. I like to see a poof of dust come out my mouth after I drink a glass. The dryer the better for me. About the only sweeter wine I care to drink is a blueberry wine.

Smurfe