Dry wine refers to wines that are perceived to have no, or small amounts of residual sugar. There is no definitive rules, but you would expect wines to have less than 7g/L of RS, with bone dry less than 3g/L.

A term that is used commonly for sweeter aromatic wines such as Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer. You would expect these wines that are off-dry to have an RS of 7-20g/L.

Wines that are referred to as medium, will have an RS of 20-30g/L. This is not a hugely common category, but is applicable to wines such as Moscato, sweeter style aromatics and some commercial red and rose wines.

Bordering on dessert wines, but not quite there, wines that are medium sweet will have an RS over 30g/L probably upto 80g/L.

Sweet is definitely in the dessert wine spectrum - late harvest, ice wine and botrytised wines. These wines will commonly have 100g/L+ residual sugar.

Brix is the winemaking measurement for sugar levels in wine or grape juice. Scientifically it is "Degrees Brix" and refers to the content of sucrose (sugar) per 100ml of solution. 1g per 100ml is 1 brix.

Residual sugar (RS) is the amount of natural sugar (mainly glucose and fructose) left unfermented after winemaking, measured in grams per liter (g/L); it determines perceived sweetness, from dry (<3 g/L) to sweet (100+ g/L).

Balance in wine refers to the harmonious integration of sweetness (RS), acidity, alcohol, tannins, and fruit flavors; high-acidity sweet wines (e.g., Riesling or ice wine) often feel balanced despite elevated RS due to counteracting crispness.

Juice concentrate can be added before ferment to enhance the alcoholic strength, or after ferment to "sweeten" a wine and therefore there is more residual sugar.

This is the measure of sugar in the grape juice, or wine. It basically is a measure of what the ABV would be if all the sugars were fermented to alcohol.

This refers to wines that are made from grapes that are left on the vine for longer, thus ripening more with more sugar content in the berries, and also likely becoming "shrivelled" which also concentrates the sugar content, these grapes usually make sweet dessert (or pudding) wines with residual sugars usually 80g+ L plus.

Noble rot wines, also known as botrytised wines, are produced from grapes affected by the beneficial mold Botrytis cinerea, which concentrates sugars, acids, and flavors by partially dehydrating the berries in cool, misty autumn conditions while piercing the grape skins to allow higher sugar levels in the grapes, these grapes make sweet wines and usually fall under the "late harvest" or " dessert wine" category.

Similar to late harvest, in very cold areas frozen grapes are harvested and pressed while still solid, the resulting juice is intensely sweet, balanced by high acidity, and yields small amounts of rich, complex wine.

Preservatives (like SO2) prevent oxidation, bacterial spoilage, and re-fermentation of residual sugars. Thus, sweeter wines typically contain higher levels of preservatives, which at higher concentrations can cause headaches and allergic reactions.