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What do dry, semi-sweet and naturally semi-sweet mean on a Georgian wine label?

Wine categories by sugar.

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Short answer

Georgian law divides still wines by sugar content into dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet, while natural means incomplete fermentation of the pulp or grape must. The law covers naturally semi-dry, naturally semi-sweet and naturally sweet wines in this way. It does not give numerical sugar limits for the categories.

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Why

  1. Article 14(4) of the Law on Vine and Wine lists the categories by sugar content: dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet (except sparkling).
  2. Article 3(d): naturally semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet wines are obtained through incomplete fermentation of pulp or must.
  3. The law defines sugar content as the mass concentration of reproducing sugars (Article 3, para. 46).

Details

The law does not say how many grams of sugar per litre stand behind each category, so no figures are given here. For wine to take home see which Georgian wine is best and which to take home.

Tip

If you are unsure about sweetness, ask the seller or read the category on the label before buying.

What may differ

The law is amended, and numerical sugar limits may be set in separate technical regulations, which were not checked here.

Common misconception

Semi-sweet Georgian wine is made by adding sugar.

What actually happens

For wines marked natural the law describes incomplete fermentation of pulp or must, not added sugar.

People also ask

  • What does semi-sweet Georgian wine mean?
  • What is naturally semi-sweet wine?

Sources

18+. This answer is for reference: it paraphrases the law and is not specialist advice.

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