Wine Education Wednesdays: Tannins

This week, we are talking about tannins!

Tannins are a type of polyphenolic compound and an important structural component in your wine. They are found in things like fruit, tea leaves, and dark chocolate and create the same sensation on your palate as they do when you find them in wine.

Tannins bind to your saliva, creating that slightly rough, drying effect that coats your mouth. You generally notice this most on your gums and may be able to taste a bitterness at the back of your mouth – these are the main indicators of tannins being present in wine.

Tannins are found in both the seeds and stems of a grape, but they come mostly from the skins. There are higher levels of tannin in black grapes and especially those with thicker skins. Whilst white wines can have tannins too – especially if they have been aged in oak barrels or have spent time in contact with their skins – it is generally red wines where we need to think about tannins when wine tasting.

Undoubtedly the trickiest thing about determining whether tannin levels are low, moderate, or high, boils down to understanding tannin ripeness. Unripe tannins can feel especially drying, astringent and harsh, leading you to believe that the levels are HIGH, when in fact they are just moderate and unripe. Equally, you can have a wine with beautiful silky, ripe tannins that are not as punch-you-in-mouth-drying, which makes you think the levels are only MODERATE, when in actual fact they are high and ripe.

Nice and confusing hey? So, try to consider other factors – does the wine overall seem a bit thin? If it does – it probably has lower tannin levels that are simply unripe. Does your wine feel full bodied? If so, the tannin levels may be higher than you initially thought. Tannins are a structural component that hugely influence the OVERALL mouthfeel of your wine – so try to remember this next time you are tasting!

Below is a list of grapes varieties with naturally high tannins – no doubt you will be familiar with several of these:

Cabernet Sauvignon – a key variety in the blends of Bordeaux
Nebbiolo – the grape used to produce the age-worthy wines of Barolo and Barbaresco
Sagrantino – this ultra-high tannin wine from Umbria’s Montefalco region must be aged for a minimum of 3-years before it is released
Sangiovese – THE Tuscan grape variety, also known as Brunello and Vino Nobile
Syrah/Shiraz – popular all over the world, this high tannin wine really knows how to stain your teeth!
Mourvedre – also known as Monastrell in Spain, is renowned for its high tannins
Tannat – the most widely planted variety in Uruguay, originating from Madiran in France
Malbec – Argentina’s key grape variety that can be produced in a range of styles depending on the altitude at which it is grown

Because of the structure that high tannin levels create, wines made from the above grapes have the potential to age for decades. It is also true that some grapes on this list – Nebbiolo (in Barolo) and Sagrantino (in Montefalco) for example – HAVE to be aged for several years before they are even released to market because the tannin levels are simply too high in young wines from these varieties.

Which brings us on to our next point – tannins do get softer with age. Over time, tannins polymerize – or bind together – and will eventually become sediment in the bottle.

If you simply haven’t got the time to sit and wait for your tannins to transform into sediment however, there are a few other tricks to lessen their perception…

Because tannins are more obvious at lower temperatures – and if you’re dying to open a young wine which you know is likely to have high tannins – try serving it a little on the warm side as opposed to chilled from the cellar. 18 degrees will be plenty.
You could also decant your wine a couple of hours before serving – exposing the wine to oxygen also helps to reduce the perception of tannins.
And finally, you can try pairing your wine with suitable dishes.

High tannin wines pair especially well with salty, fatty foods like the following: