Off-Dry

Off-dry wine meaning

Off-dry—also written off dry or offdry—describes a wine with a slight, perceptible sweetness: not fully dry in the sensory sense and not overtly sweet.

It is useful consumer and tasting language, but there is no single worldwide “off-dry equals X–Y g/L” rule. The OIV still-wine classification uses the formal term medium-dry, with an upper limit of 12 g/L or, when its acidity condition is met, 18 g/L. Sparkling wine has a separate set of regulated terms and ranges.

Off-dry versus medium-dry

• Off-dry usually describes how a wine tastes or how a producer presents its style.
• Medium-dry can be a defined labeling category under a particular rulebook.
• The two ideas may overlap, but they should not be treated as automatic legal synonyms everywhere.

Acidity, aroma, alcohol, texture, bubbles, temperature, and individual sensitivity can change how the measured sugar is perceived. Any grape variety can be made in more than one sweetness style.

Compare the complete still- and sparkling-wine sweetness chart and the definition of residual sugar.