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Wine tannins come from the skins, seeds, and stems of the harvested grapes.
Photo: www.norcalaca.com |
Lesson
One: Tannins – As a person passionate about any subject, I have studied tons of
material, purchased countless books, and been educated by some of the best
people in the business. Every definition
is slightly different, as any author would want it to be, so I have tried to
incorporate some of the best definitions (and some long, monotonous ones too)
into a mildly full definition. Yes, “full”
means long… but it’s, in my opinion thorough, and hopefully enjoyable. And so, let us begin:
Tannin: Think of a natural pond
in the late Autumn or early Spring.
Notice all the leaves accumulated in the bottom of the pond, and the
water appears somewhat brown. Mmmm…
yummy. The water has evolved into a
tannic acid solution – water, which is slightly acidic, draws the essence of the leaves
into its own substance. By definition “a
tannin (… a type of bimolecule…) is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound
that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds
including amino acids and alkaloids.”
(Tannin, Wikipedia, accessed 4/8/2012)
When applied to wine, which is naturally much more acidic than water, tannin
profiles result from grape juices extracting the essence of the grape skins,
stems, and seeds; also from the wooden barrel as the wine matures. This is how red wine is made: grape juice is
naturally white, no matter what grape color.
Think about it: when you bite into a red grape you purchased at the
grocery store, what color is the inside?
White… well it’s kind of grey/green… but for all intensive purposes, it’s
white. Therefore, in order to produce
red wine, the juice must rest with its skins (primarily), extracting the tart,
sometimes bitter flavors, and yes, its color in the process - tannins. This is the wine equivalent of tannic acid,
and the reason red wine has its color, intensity, and in young red wines, a “puckering”
sensation. Tannin is also present in tea, beer, herbs, and even on the surface of wood-smoked meats.
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Tannic acid present in a natural wetland setting.
Photo: www.orlandowaterfrontexpert.com |
While
this next excerpt is lengthy, I think it is extremely valuable: “The quality
and quantity of tannins in red wine vary.
Quantity depends partly on the grape: thicker-skinned varieties such as
Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah contain more of these preservatives, and thus have
a greater capacity for aging. The
vintage (a dry summer produces thicker skins and correspondingly more tannins)
and the work of the winemaker also play a role, however, because low yields,
long skin-contact times and barrel-aging enable larger amounts of the compounds
to be extracted. At least as important
for the development of a wine’s flavor is the quality of the tannins. Only tannins that were fully ripe when the
grapes were harvested will integrate harmoniously into the overall taste of a
wine after years in the bottle.” (Wine, Andre Domine, 2008)
In
order to age wine, one of three factors must be present in the wine: tannin,
acid, or sugar. As this is a story on
tannins, we will come to acid and sugar later.
“Full-flavored wines with high levels of tannin, such as Cabernet
Sauvignon, are usually meant to be aged.
As they get older, the tannins drop out of the wine as sediment, making
the wine seem much smoother and mellower with age.” (The Sommelier’s Guide to Wine, Brian Smith,
2003) As red wines age, and become more
full, lush, and palatable, the tannin literally breaks down, and becomes
oversaturated within its container, and can be seen as sediment in the bottom of
the bottle (or ideally on the side of the bottle, because properly stored wine
should rest on its side). This is why older
wines should especially be handled with care; I recommend giving each aging
bottle in your cellar a quarter turn each month to avoid sediment accumulating
along the side of the bottle. No wine
should be “shaken,” but you can’t avoid movement when pulling a bottle from the
cellar up to your dining room. After you
have made your way upstairs, it is best to allow the bottle to rest a moment
before opening and decanting. In a
nutshell, decanting performs two processes:
it allows maximum exposure to oxygen in order to break wine down even faster, “speeding
up” the aging process and providing a more palatable experience, and it allows you
to “filter” the sediment from the wine.
Before opening, you allowed the bottle to rest a moment, yes? Gravity pulled all the sediment to the bottom
of the bottle… so as you are pouring the last quarter of the bottle into the
decanter, and you begin to see sediment, you can cease pouring, and avoid
lovely chunks of sediment in your glass.
We will revisit the decanting process in a later Juicy Tannins Wine 101.
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Try to avoid sediment - the byproduct of tannins breaking down - in your glass.
Photo: www.thepurplecafe.com |
Now,
please take into consideration that 90-95% of all bottled wine is actually
meant to be enjoyed shortly after bottling.
Only about 5-10% of Cabernets, Cab Francs, Merlots, Syrahs, and other
intense red wines are meant to be aged.
How can you tell the difference?
Quite honestly, the fastest way to tell the difference is price. A more expensive wine, in general, should
have a bit of age to it. How old depends
on your preference – the longer you are able to age it, the more breakdown in
tannins that occurs… however, wait too long, and the bottle may spoil. Aging wine can be just as much of a gamble –
or an art – as playing the stock market.
For some prestigious Red Bordeaux and California Bordeaux Blends, you
can enjoy the wine, after it has been properly cellared, for as much as 20 to
30 years. If you ever have the chance to
read The Billionaire’s Vinegar by
Benjamin Wallace, I highly recommend it.
It is a fantastic journey of the world’s oldest bottles of drinkable,
and unfortunately some spoiled, wines with price tags to match their fame.
Again
making generalizations, younger palates tend to enjoy big, tannic wines; more
experienced palates prefer a wine that has had the chance to break down and
become more elegant in the bottle. This
is certainly not true of everyone, but just for the everyday wine drinker, this
is generally the case. When buying wine
at the grocery store, or ordering a bottle in your favorite restaurant, don’t
be afraid to ask the wine buyer or steward when he or she would drink the
bottle you are purchasing. Some examples
of wine to cellar (age) would be: Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour, Beau
Vigne, Chimney Rock, Opus One, and almost any flagship Bordeaux and Borolo
wines. Most second label Bordeaux
bottles are ready for consumption upon release (such as Chateau Gruaud Larose’s
Larose de Gruaud).
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Chateau Grauad Larose is a fantastic wine to be aged. Aging allows the
breakdown of tannins, and produces a more elegant, luscious wine. |
For
the other 50% of the world’s wine production - white wine - the skin contact
process simply does not exist. White
wine production generally only utilizes the juice of the grape, not the
skins. Therefore, white wine primarily does
not contain tannins, and should generally be consumed within the first few
years of the bottle’s life. I say “generally,”
because there are always exceptions. As
we will learn in later Wine 101 posts, some of the world’s oldest wines are
whites, but due to a completely different aging factor: sugar.
So
what are “juicy” tannins? Tannins can
take on other properties in a bottle of wine, depending on the varietal, what
climate conditions existed during the wine’s vintage, and how the wine has
evolved in the bottle throughout the aging process. Tannins are juicy when they exhibit full,
almost sweet qualities. It’s a “balance”
descriptor that jumps from tannins to body to flavor… "it’s juicy!" Tannins can be luscious,
silky, sexy, or gracious. The robust,
somewhat bitter, presence is still there, but the wine has evolved so that each
contact with your palate bursts like a “Gusher” gummy fruit snack. You know… juicy!
