''Trocken'', German for ''dry'', is a classification of German wine that indicates a wine that is dry rather than off-dry (''halbtrocken''), sweeter (''lieblich'') or sweet (''süß''). ''Trocken'' wines are not devoid of

residual sugar The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, while ...

, but have, at most, a few grams per liter, which can be perceptible but is not overtly sweet. ''Trocken'' is also a designation for Austrian wine, but more rarely used there than in Germany, since many quality categories of Austrian wines are dry by default. Somewhat confusingly, for '' Sekt'' and other

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne ( ...

s, ''trocken'' indicates a higher level of sugar than it does for non-sparkling wines. A ''Sekt trocken'' is best described as off-dry or semi-sweet, while a ''Sekt brut'' is completely dry.

Requirements

The maximum amount of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

allowed for a ''trocken'' designation depends on the level of

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

in the wine. For wine low in acid, a maximum of sugar is allowed. If the acid level exceeds , the sugar may exceed the acid level by 2 grams per liter, up to a maximum sugar content of .Deutsches Weininstitut: Sparkling wine (Sekt)
, accessed on March 25, 2009 Most high-quality German white wines have a high enough acidity to be allowed up to 9 grams per liter of sugar under the ''trocken'' level. When used, the requirements in Austria are exactly the same.
, accessed on March 25, 2009

Sparkling wines

When used for sparkling wine, the term ''trocken'' means a sugar content of . This parallels the term ''sec'' ("dry") in French, which indicates a sparkling wine of the same sugar level as ''trocken''. Drier wines are designated ''extra trocken'' at , while completely dry sparkling wines are given the designation ''brut'' (0–15 g/L) or ''extra brut'' (0–6 g/L).

Background

Until the invention of sterile filtration, most German wines were dry. Fermentation continued until all the sugar was consumed, leaving only miscellaneous unfermentable sugars. Only the occasional sweet rarity, made from extremely ripe grapes, kept any residual sugar. For most of the twentieth century, the style was typically sweeter low-alcohol wines. Only since about 1990 has ''trocken'' wine become popular, partly because many prefer it with food. Most exported German wine is still of the sweeter styles. While it appears in the term '' trockenbeerenauslese'', ''trocken'' in that case refers to the dried grapes, not the dryness of the resulting wine.

References

{{German wine German wine Wine classification German words and phrases