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Tannins are naturally occurring compounds in wine that come from grape skins, seeds and stems. They provide the texture and structure of the wine and can create a feeling of dryness in your mouth by binding to proteins in saliva.
They are something you feel, as opposed to taste – think of the vague and dry feeling you get from drinking excessive tea or strong black coffee. They provide adhesion and sand to whole wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebiolo, Cheese and Tanat, which are grape varieties with high levels of tannin. For some, even the most delicate tannins turn out to be astringent and awful. People with tannin sensitivity tend to avoid tea, black coffee, chocolate and red wine.
These mouth-drying compounds are found mostly in red wines, which get their pigment from prolonged maceration and fermentation with the skins and seeds of grapes during the winemaking process. White and rosé wines, which are produced by minimizing contact with parts of the grape other than its juice, rarely show a feeling of bitterness or drying from the tannin.
Depending on the grape variety being processed and the style of wine they are trying to make, winemakers can minimize the time the juice stays in contact with the skins. The longer you leave the juice on the grape skin, the deeper the color of the finished wine and the higher the level of extracted tannins. Excessively high tannins can be reduced by various fine agents that bind to large tannins in the wine to add their removal.
Cheap red wines often have less tannin than more expensive wines for several reasons. First-class bottles are more likely to be aged in oak – whether aged in oak barrels or in contact with chips or sticks – which add more tannin to the finished wine. Tannins derived from wood are different compounds from tannins from grapes, but still contribute to the astringent effect of the finished wine, as well as add to its overall weight and mouthfeel. The new barrels contribute the most wood tannins, as well as obvious flavors such as vanilla, cedar, chocolate, toast or smoke.
Wines to watch out for are not only low in tannins, but also delicious with a slight chill, including barbera, dolcetto, gamay, grenache and pinot noir. I would also add Valpolicellas from Italy, which are made with a blend of grapes, including corvina, and zinfandels from California as softer and smoother styles of red wine without drying out the tannin.
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