• Labeling a wine as the "driest" is a difficult task if you do not taste it. A wine must contain less than 0.5 percent sugar to be considered dry. Virtually all red table wines are dry; rating them for "dryness" is often confused with flavors correlating to tannin and acidity levels that make a wine with the same sugar content as a so-called dry wine seem sweeter.
  
  

Cabernet Sauvignon

• Many people believe that the "driest" red wine is Cabernet Sauvignon, as it is very bold in taste with virtually no sweetness. The low acidity and high tannin levels cause the wine to taste more robust and naturally less sweet. However, this does not mean that it is any "drier," or contains less sugar, than a wine that contains the same percentage of residual sugar. It is a difficult task to distinguish between the taste of sugar and the taste of fruity acid.
  
  

Shiraz and Syrah

• Shiraz and Syrah tend to contain the same levels of residual sugar as a Cabernet Sauvignon, which is close to zero. They are technically as dry as the Cab, though upon tasting some bottles can appear to be sweeter as they often taste fruitier. Therefore they are considered sweeter at times even though they contain about the same level of dryness.
  
  

Pinot Noir and Merlot

• Pinot Noir is also a dry red as it generally yields a sugar level close to zero. The "sweetness" factor that makes the Pinot Noir appear less dry upon the first sip is that it contains much lower tannin levels than the Cabernet of Shiraz. Tannins create a sense of bold spiciness, while the lack there of allows the lighter fruity flavors to come through more distinctly. Thus it appears less dry. Merlot generally follows the same pattern as Pinot Noir; it is very low in tannins and contains higher levels of acidity, thus it is usually viewed as one of the least dry reds.