The Auswine Forum

Hello all,

My wife and I enjoy a chilled white wine with something to nibble, usually after we have been for a ride on our motorbike to some place we haven’t been before. I was always pretty open to whatever drop the waiter/waitress/barperson recommended until one hot day I had a very cold glass of a wine that made me realise what I liked. I have forgotten the name, mores the pity, but it was the driest wine I have ever tasted, and I loved it. I have had many tastes of different wines since then and have not even come near the taste, and more importantly, aftertaste of that mystery glass.

So my question is folks: What is the driest white you know of. Please don’t be shy. We’re talking ashes here. The taste when in my mouth was clean, cold and pleasant. I’m not a connoisseur so I don’t really know how to describe it. But after I swallowed came the revelation! Virtually any evidence that I had had a mouthful of wine disappeared, other than the low temp. in my mouth. Maybe for one exhalation through my nose could I smell it, but after that, gone. Beautiful. Any suggestions gratefully tried.

Cheers

Andrew and Lynny

Quelltaler Hock

Lots of Hunter Valley latest vintage semilions.

Fino Sherry

Andrew & Lynny
In terms of dry, many many white wines are technically dry. Many people use the term dry to distinguish from sweet (and here that really means the commercial bag of sugar sweetness as against stunning late harvest dessert wines).

Over time dry becomes just one facet of a wine, with acidity, body, length of aftertaste and many more other factors come into play.

However despite many wines being 'dry' some appear more austere than others. Sometimes this may be the style of grape or wine, or the region it's grown in, even the soil (and plenty of other variables). One aspect that might be substituted for 'dry' is acidity. This is because acidity tends to balance against sweetness to stop wines being flabby. A wine that is dry but has plenty of acidity, can seem drier (or less sweet).

Worth also noting the alcohol, as a higher alcohol wine suggests a bigger richer wine, and potentially lower acidity (this is a hell of a broad generalisation, but a simple one that might be of use initially

So after all that waffle, which wines should you look for?
NZ Sauvignon Blanc
Clare/Eden Valley Rieslings
German 'Trocken' Rieslings
Hunter Valley Semillon
plus plenty more from France, Italy and elsewhere
Sparkling whites

All should have zingy refreshing acidity and no residual sweetness

ridinslivin wrote:Hello all,

So my question is folks: What is the driest white you know of. Please don’t be shy. We’re talking ashes here. The taste when in my mouth was clean, cold and pleasant. I’m not a connoisseur so I don’t really know how to describe it. But after I swallowed came the revelation! Virtually any evidence that I had had a mouthful of wine disappeared, other than the low temp. in my mouth. Maybe for one exhalation through my nose could I smell it, but after that, gone. Beautiful. Any suggestions gratefully tried.

Cheers

Andrew and Lynny

Andrew and Lynny, welcome aboard.

Interesting comment though, the holy grail of wine-drinkers is usually to have the flavours of a good wine linger as long as possible ("long finish") and disappearing quickly from the mouth ("short finish") is only desirable if the wine is otherwise unpleasant.

If you've lurked here a while you may know my general attitude to white wine, so take the following with a grain of salt and note the tongue firmly in cheek: What they served you was a cold bottle of fresh tank water! It was probably briefly matured on a layer of ash from the last bush fire with a possible hint of dead bird.

Yes Red Bigot!!! That's it!! Where can I get a case!

Seriously though, thank you all for your input. I guess I do drink wine a bit differently than most in that I enjoy a glass or two of chilled white wine for its tonsil irrigating refreshment value and its appertif properties, not necessarily it's taste proper (I guess by that I mean a long finish). I don't tend to drink at all while eating a main course. In fact, when I find my favourite drop(s) there will be some hot days especially where I tip a bottle into a soda siphon and really wash away the dust of long day at work or ride on our bike.

Cheers all. I will act on the above advice and post some results as Lynny and I read through this forum and learn more.

I would also suggest that you look for wines with a low pH as that can increase the perception of crispness.

I would go for the Hunter Semillon (new vintage) as other dry wines such as German Riesling and Sav. Blanc have quite a strong character which doesn't sound like what you are after (mind you thats what *I* like).

cheers

Carl

You can not go past a SSB from the Margeret River, hits the spot every time

Hey andrew,

If you want the dryest of the dry, there is no substitute for proper french chablis. Petit Chablis is the cheapest grade and definietely the most dehydratingly dry. In chablis they fertilise the vines with oyster shells and seldom oak their wines. So that's where most of it comes from.

Then you have Portuguese ports that are designed to be had with really salty olives. They are utterly dry.

mattathias wrote:Then you have Portuguese ports that are designed to be had with really salty olives. They are utterly dry.

I think you might mean Fino Sherries from Spain...

Gavin's bulk delete strikes again.

Anonymous wrote:.......or ride on our bike.

Um, is that a bicycle or a motorcycle?

Lynny and I will reregister as often as the spam can delete us. We can see how it could get frustrating for some though. Is there a fix on the horizon?

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I will enjoy buying the various bottles over the next little while and experimenting with temperatures and degrees of carbonation.

I think contributing in this forum this is going to be fun

Daryl Douglas wrote:

Anonymous wrote:.......or ride on our bike.

Um, is that a bicycle or a motorcycle?

That would be a motorbike Daryl. A Suzuki SV1000S to be exact. And there's nothing Lynny and I like better than a couple of hours of a mixture of country cruising and ripping through the twisties followed by a delicious picnic in front of a glorious view and have the whole experience enhanced by a bottle or two of chilled white wine.

Edit: and yourself? do you ride?

ridinslivin wrote:

Daryl Douglas wrote:

Anonymous wrote:.......or ride on our bike.

Um, is that a bicycle or a motorcycle?

That would be a motorbike Daryl. A Suzuki SV1000S to be exact. And there's nothing Lynny and I like better than a couple of hours of a mixture of country cruising and ripping through the twisties followed by a delicious picnic in front of a glorious view and have the whole experience enhanced by a bottle or two of chilled white wine.

Edit: and yourself? do you ride?

Yep, I've had a 99 ZZR1100 since Jan 00. Rode to Rocky for Christmas and got held up on the return trip for over an hour by a triple-fatality (incl the dog) accident. It's my daily transport except when it's raining too heavily.

Cheers

ridinslivin wrote:Lynny and I will reregister as often as the spam can delete us. We can see how it could get frustrating for some though. Is there a fix on the horizon?

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I will enjoy buying the various bottles over the next little while and experimenting with temperatures and degrees of carbonation.

I think contributing in this forum this is going to be fun

It's Gavin (the forum owner/administrator) that is deleting your registration because it looks like one of the many spam registrations. I suggest you use something based on your actual name or wine-related, it might escape his bulk delete. If in doubt email or PM Gavin Trott.