Tannins in wine explained: what are they and how to taste them
Tannins give texture to a wine and are particularly noticeable in red wines. Like the color, tannin comes from the grape skin. Some grape varieties contain a lot of tannin, while others contain very little. In addition to the difference in quantity, tannin can give a drying or soft mouthfeel. This can be estimated based on the climate: a wine from a cool climate often has drying tannins, while a wine from a warm climate usually gives soft tannins.
A frequently asked question during wine courses is: “Isn’t tannin that astringent, drying sensation in your mouth?” The honest answer is: yes and no. Because tannin can also be soft and mouth-filling. Do you find this confusing? You’re not alone. Tannin is complex. But tannin largely determines your taste preferences, so it’s important to understand it. To do that, we first have to get through some “dry” matter 😉.
What exactly is tannin
Tannin is a collective term for chemical compounds in plants that can bind proteins. They belong to the group of polyphenols, which also includes the components that give wine its color and flavor. The word tannin comes from tannum, which means “oak wood.” Traditionally, tannin from oak trees has been used in leather tanning. The tannin fixes the proteins in animal skin, turning it into leather. This also explains the drying effect that wine can have when tasting: the tannin binds with your saliva proteins and gives a astringent sensation in your mouth.
Tannins in the grape skin
Tannin in wine comes from grape skins and optionally from seeds, stems, and aging in new oak barrels. Both white and black grape varieties have tannin in their skins. To make a red wine, the skins are used to extract color. With white wine there is little or no skin contact. That is why you can taste tannins in red wine but not in white wine. An exception is ‘orange wine’. This is essentially a white wine that has had prolonged skin contact: not only does it take on an orange color, but you can also clearly taste tannins in these wines!
Tannin is texture
IFirst and foremost, tannin gives red wine its texture. You can perceive it as a kind of sand grain. A wine can contain a lot or a little of these sand grains. The amount of tannin in a wine is often related to:
- The grape variety: the Pinot Noir grape for example, contains much less tannin in its skin than the Malbec grape
- The conditions in the vineyard: lots of sunlight and heat produce more tannin
- Choices made during winemaking: long and intense skin maceration produces more tannin
How to taste tannin
In addition to the amount of tannin, the mouthfeel of tannin also differs per wine. To illustrate: the grains of sand can be angular or round, which respectively represent drying and soft tannins. To be able to perceive this properly, make sure you rinse the wine in your mouth. You will then feel the texture of the wine on your gums. Red wines with drying tannins are immediately noticeable, as they cause an astringent mouthfeel.
This is more difficult for red wines that do contain tannins but do not give a drying sensation. These wines are perceived as soft and mouth-filling, similar to the mouthfeel of unfiltered fruit juice. That is why we call this the ‘fruit pulp effect’.
Finally, there are also wines that contain little tannin but still come across as drying. The cause is usually grapes that have been picked (too) early, which results in so-called ‘unripe tannin’ in your wine. By comparison, take an unripe green banana. Just a small bite can taste very drying.
Drying or soft tannins
How can you tell which wines contain drying or soft tannins? A useful indicator is the climate in which the grapes were grown. In general, wines from cooler climates tend to have more drying tannins, while wines from warmer climates tend to have more soft tannins. A good comparison would be the Loire region in France (drying) versus the Barossa Valley in South Australia (soft).
In short, depending on the grape variety and climate in particular, a wine will contain a little or a lot of tannin, and these tannins can be drying or soft.
Robert, Cloud Wine
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