What is Tannin in Wine?
“Let’s talk about Tannin. Tannin is an acid that is found in the seeds, and skins, and stems of grapes. All grapes, but we usually talk about tannin in a red wine. A white wine can have tannin if the wine has rested on the grape seeds or skins for a while or if it was aged in an oak barrel. You might notice a little bit of a textural drying sensation at the back of your mouth or the tip of your tongue in a white wine. In a red wine, however, I can probably say you will taste tannin. As a matter of fact, the varying levels of tannin in a red wine are one of the major ways we describe the differences in a red wine. You’ll feel tannin beginning in the back of your tongue after you swallow and exhale from taking a sip of red wine, however, if you want to bring out the tannin flavor in a wine what you need to do is take a little sip of the wine. When it’s in your mouth, draw a little bit of air in like this, “whhh”, swallow, and then exhale. It’s a little bit embarrassing and not exactly be
