Wine Terms: Tannic

Tannic refers to the way a wine makes your mouth pucker. If you don't know what that feels like, think of a cup of unsweetened black tea. That bitter flavor is what we are talking about. A little harsh to drink.

It is rarely associated with white wines. This is because this flavor comes from contact in red wines with the skins, seeds and stems. The thicker the skin of a red wine's grapes the more tannins.

Another description in regards to this is velvety. A velvety wine may leave your mouth feeling "fuzzy." The beauty of these acids is that they:

-slow oxidation in wine
-mellow with age
-produce sediment in wine.

They are also the reason that a wine may close and open. Meaning that initially fruit flavors may override the bitter taste but as these young berry flavors mellow, the tannins come to the front of the wine. They are overbearing for a couple of years and then mellow to the point of the wine opening, or becoming palatable again.

They are one of the reasons that Cabernet Sauvignons are so hard to drink young, but age well. Because people like to drink them straight off the shelf, it is rare to find a Cabernet that has not been blended with Merlot and/or Cabernet Franc.



Examples of wines that taste this way are Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo. Both are thick skinned grapes and their wines get better with age. If you would like to compare them to a other less "fuzzy" wines, try a Beaujolais or a Pinot Noir. They both are ready to drink almost as soon as they are bottled.

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