Tannins & red wine

You've bought your first bottle of Barolo. Everyone says it's amazing, so you have to try it, right? When you open it, pour yourself a glass, and then take that first sip, something happens. Something you don't expect. Your tongue feels dry, your cheeks tighten, and you wonder: " Is this stuff any good? "

Yup: that's exactly how tannins in red wine are supposed to work.

That strange, astringent feeling? That's the tannins at work. Before you put that bottle away or write it off, know something no one has probably explained to you yet: that feeling happens to everyone, it's not your fault. Even that wine expert in your circle of friends was surprised by their first tannic Barolo.

However, there is a caveat: Barolo is perhaps the most extreme case of tannin experience.

Anyway, those tannins have a reason and a purpose. Let me explain.

Demystifying jargon

Let's be clear about what's actually happening. You've probably heard of "structure in wine," but what does that actually mean? It largely has to do with those tannins. So let's first take a look at those tannins themselves.

What are tannins?

Tannins are tannic acids. Simply put: they are natural chemical compounds derived from grape skins, seeds, stems, and, if used, the oak in which the wine was aged. They are present in your wine when the juice comes into contact with these components. The duration of this contact determines the intensity/amount of these tannins. The amount of tannins in the final product creates that dry sensation that makes your tongue clench and your teeth feel rough.

How do you taste them?

Take a sip, let the wine sit in your mouth for a moment. Do you feel your cheeks clinging slightly to your teeth? Does your mouth feel relatively dry? That's astringency ( the effect of constricting tissues or preventing moisture from being released) , the hallmark of tannins.

Astringency: The effect of constricting tissues or preventing fluid secretion.

That dry sensation occurs because tannins bind to proteins in your saliva and dry out your mouth—the same feeling as with strong tea. So, combining some protein with your wine, meat, cheese, fish, creamy sauces, etc. also helps. This will shift the balance. Be careful with hams and some dried sausages, though, as they can make your wine taste a bit iron-like.

How do you recognize them in advance?

In wine descriptions you sometimes read things like:

• structured
• "elegant / soft tannins"
• "vertical" (not something you encounter very often, and not the same as a "vertical")

And those terms can be quite confusing. Don't be ashamed if you thought so. It's quite subjective, and relative to the type of wine.

So, to some extent, you'd recognize them by these terms, even though "soft tannins" naturally indicates they're not very pronounced. To a large extent, it's also (unfortunately) about learning to recognize specific wine regions, grapes, and styles.

Barolo, which I mentioned earlier, often has very high tannins. This is partly due to the grape variety: Nebbiolo, but also to the climate (which is relatively cool, so the seeds and skins develop differently compared to the sugars in the grape), the use of wood, and age (more on that later in this article).

What do you do with tannins?

This is where it gets interesting, especially if you're not necessarily buying wine to drink quickly. Tannins themselves aren't what you're looking for in wine's flavor. However, they do have a significant impact on the wine's development, depth, and structure.

Those tannins are often very present in young wines, like chewing on tea bags. The longer a wine ages, the softer (there we go) and more integrated those tannins become. That process takes time (not weeks, but years).

The presence of tannins often tells you something about the wine's potential aging (how long it can last). It's certainly not the only variable; after all, how you store wine , the grape variety, the acidity, the vintage (cooler, warmer, with more or less peaks in temperature and rainfall), and the winery's style all have an impact.

So if you buy wine to experience its development, a lack of tannins in a red wine (a Riesling, for example, does not need them, but can still age very well) is a reasonable certainty regarding a lack of aging potential.

Why you absolutely don't need to avoid tannins

First, by avoiding tannins, you're missing out on some of the world's finest wines. Legendary Barolos, magnificent Cabernet Sauvignons, sublime Bordeaux wines—wines that build their reputations on tannin structure. By avoiding them, you're missing out on wines that can completely transform your experience and perception of wine.

Moreover, you remain in your comfort zone with soft wines that are delicious every day, but lack the depth that makes wine so fascinating.

Accelerate the experience

Sometimes you have to resort to a few tricks to reduce the impact of those tannins. After all, you can't tell from the outside how the tannins are developing. So sometimes that becomes frustrating. You buy an expensive Cabernet Sauvignon to pair with your rib-eye, but drink it a bit too cold, without decanting. The result? Tannins that leave a bitter film on your meal.

How do you solve that?

1. Temperature slightly up.
   The serving temperature should be right; sometimes it helps to let the wine warm up a bit more, allowing the aromas to develop more and create balance. However, don't let it get so hot that the alcohol (which evaporates) becomes dominant.
2. Oxygen.
   Decant your wine, preferably through an aerator. This often helps enormously in softening the wine and releasing its aromas. If you have a young wine, don't be afraid to pull the cork hours beforehand and perhaps decant it even earlier. Don't worry about the temperature (unless it's 30 degrees Celsius outside); you can always pour the wine back into the bottle half an hour beforehand (using a funnel) and let it cool down a bit in the refrigerator.
   

Age and maturation

I touched on this earlier. But those tannins soften with age. Over time, they bond with other molecules in the wine ( "polymerization" ), reducing their surface area and diminishing the experience. Eventually, they become too large and turn into sediment. If you store your bottles properly and pour them slowly as they age, that sediment stays neatly in the bottle. And you'll have a wine that has had time to develop.

You know right away that that sediment is also not a bad point of the wine.

Frequently Asked Questions