
I believe this preference for sweeter drinks leads many new wine drinkers to gravitate toward sweeter wines. First off, there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking out the kind of wines that you like... that's the most important goal in becoming a wino. However, I have learned from friends who asked me for recommendations for a sweet wine (ugg, I hate dry wines! they say), and who I have pointed toward wines to wines like late harvest Zinfandels, Petite Sirahs, or Viogniers that sugary sweet wines like these are not what they mean. (Hey wino, I asked for sweet wine, not syrup!!!).
The important thing to remember is that there are two types of sweetness you can experience when drinking wine. The first is true sweetness from residual sugar in the wine, and the second is the perception of sweetness from intense fruit flavors.

The perception of sweetness from a wine with intense fruit flavors is all about the difference between taste and flavor. Taste is experienced in the mouth (I know, and I don't even have a degree in biology!), and as humans we can only experience five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and savory/umami. Flavor is what we experience from the mixture of the five tastes, plus the aroma of what we are drinking or eating. Adding the aromas allows us to experience hundreds and hundreds of different flavors. Don't believe me? You can experiment at home. Take a drink of a wine that you like that you consider sweet... but plug your nostrils. Does the wine still taste sweet? If so then the wine has some residual sugar, but if it does not taste sweet... then what you are experiencing in the wine is the perception of sweetness from the fruit.
Many get turned off of "dry" wines because they may try either cheaper wines that may smell and taste too much like oak, or have that indescribable cheap white wine smell and taste. Also, lovers of sweet drinks may be turned off by wines make in the "old world" style where fruit takes a back seat to other elements of the wine. If you think you may be in this group, and have steered away from dry wines... you may like a nice fruity wine. Try your local wine shop and ask them for something fruity or fruit forward (plus ready to drink) and you just never know how much you may love it! Don't be alarmed if you get pointed to Spanish or even French wines as some winemakers in traditionally old world wine regions make very new world fruity wines that are delicious and great values.
Most importantly, find what you like and enjoy it... even if it is a sugary sweet late harvest wine, a Port, a Madeira, or a Sauternes... they are wonderful members of the world of wine as well!
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