Wine lesson: tannins
The editors at FavorFlav love wine, but as soon as the conversation turns to terroir, tannins and sulphites, their attention starts to wane a little. Because what exactly does that sommelier mean? Miss WineLane comes to the rescue and guides you through the wild forest of wine terminology. This week: tannins.
What do you taste?
Does your mouth contract with a dry, rough sensation after a sip of red wine? That’s caused by tannins: a common substance found in wine, tea and certain fruits. Not ringing a bell right away? Bite into a grape seed and you’ll immediately understand what I mean.
Your tongue feels so dry and rough because tannins bind to the natural proteins in your mouth. That’s why a (protein-rich) entrecôte pairs so well with a robust red wine: the tannins then do battle with the fat in the meat. This makes the entrecôte more succulent and the wine softer. So it’s all about finding the right balance.
How do tannins develop?
In red wine, tannins come from the grape’s skin, seeds and stems. While only the grape juice is used for white wine, with red wine the skins also go into fermentation – giving the wine its red colour. As a result, red wine contains more tannins than white wine. In short: the darker the wine, the more tannins it contains.
That doesn’t mean white wine contains no tannins, though. They can also develop through ageing in wooden barrels. The grape variety also affects the tannin level in wine: gamay, for example, is a low-tannin grape, while nebbiolo is used to make robust wines in which the tannins can sometimes be rather overpowering.
What are they good for?
Tannins are about more than just the rough mouthfeel of a glass of wine. The substance is actually very important in winemaking: it helps the wine keep for longer, giving it more time to mature. Only then do the distinctive aromas and flavours develop that make a wine exciting and special.
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