Regular readers of this column are nothing if not inquisitive, and a recent paean to Sauvignon Blanc brought in a couple of letters asking for more details.

In particular, both letter writers alluded to the fact that some of the Sauvignon Blancs they had were slightly sweet, and they wanted to know why they couldn't find a really dry wine.

This hits at the heart of a much larger story about how wines are being made these days, and the fact that, as the old saying goes, "Americans talk dry but drink sweet." Translation: Most U.S. wine drinkers say they prefer dry wines, but when push comes to shove, they buy wines with a little bit of sugar.

That is why so many of today's white wines are sweeter than they were 20 years ago. (Another reason is that technology is so much better today than two decades ago. Wine makers now can determine the precise amount of residual sugar they want in a wine. So they can make a wine "dry enough" for connoisseurs, but sweet enough so newcomers who prefer such tastes are not excluded.)

The contrast is most noticeable between California Chardonnay and French white Burgundy. The former often are rich, unctuous and soft; at the lower price points, most are slightly sweet. But most French white Burgundy, which is pretty much all made entirely from Chardonnay, is totally dry, and lower in alcohol.

Some people think it is so dry they prefer domestic Chardonnay. Others think California Chardonnay is flaccid and they prefer the crispness of the imports.

The best example of a slightly sweet Sauvignon Blanc is the 2007 Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc ($10). It has only 0.4 percent residual sugar, so to most people it tastes dry, but those with sensitive palates can detect a trace of sugar.

And a totally dry Sauvignon Blanc would be a Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume from the Loire Valley in France.

Similarly, not all Rieslings are as sweet as they once were. A German Riesling designated Kabinett, for instance, is going to have noticeable residual sugar, but most Australian Rieslings are totally dry.

Viognier is a grape with a floral aroma of peaches and honeysuckle and a rich texture. Some people like it for that fleshy, almost unctuous mouth feel which can taste a bit sweet. Yet its French counterpart, Condrieu, from the Rhone Valley, often is rather dry and delicate.

Pinot Gris is typically made dry, but some producers now leave a bit of sugar in their versions to make them a bit softer in taste.

And although most textbooks state that Alsace makes a wide array of dry white wines, the majority these days are a lot sweeter than they ever have been, an obvious appeal to those who prefer sugar over angularity.

Unfortunately, few wine makers now state on their labels whether their white wines are sweet, medium-sweet, medium-dry or dry. And part of the reason for this is that the sweetness in a wine isn't related only to how much sugar it has, but also how much acid is in the wine, along with its pH.

All this complicates matters, which is why the International Riesling Foundation now uses a sweetness scale that it hopes all wineries adopt to inform the public how sweet or dry their wines are.

Wine of the Week: 2007 Fetzer Sauvignon Blanc, California, "Valley Oaks" ($8) — Stylish white wine that has a peach/apricot sort of aroma with hints of melons. The wine is soft in the entry, but essentially dry. Its aroma is fascinating in that 2 percent of the wine is Muscat and 2 percent Viognier, adding to the complexity of the aroma.

Dan Berger resides in Sonoma County, Calif. Berger publishes a weekly newsletter on wine and can be reached at danberger@VintageExperiences.com. To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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