Why red wine tastes like *that*

Anna Gagliano

I don’t know about you, but when I drink red wine I literally want my tongue to shrivel up.

I love that dry, acidic mouthfeel really strong red wines leave. Now, you might not like that, or maybe you love it just as much as me, but there’s a science behind that tingling sensation red wines leave on your tongue.

That infamous feeling of red wine just grabbing at your mouth is due to the presence of tannins.

Tannins are astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules. Astringents are chemicals that constrict blood vessels, including those in your tongue. They usually occur in tart or bitter tasting foods like certain unripe fruits or legumes.

The chemical structure of the tannins in wine.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

But if wine should be made with perfectly ripe grapes, why does it have these astringent tannins?

More red wine grape varietals have tannic properties than you think. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Nebbiolo grapes contain more natural tannins than other grapes. The tannins are found in the seeds, skin and stems of the grape. When these red wine grapes are first pressed with all these parts of the grape it becomes a mixture called must. The longer the seeds, skin and stems soak in the must, the more tannins the wine will have.

Grapes pressed to form must.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Another way red wine can have that biting acidity is if it’s aged in oak barrels, where tannins are also commonly found. This aging doesn’t impart that many tannins, though, and in fact, the longer a wine ages, the more tannins it loses.

Same thing happens when wine ages in the bottle, as corks aren’t completely airtight. The more oxygen wine is exposed to, the faster it loses tannins. That’s why some tannin-haters like to decant or aerate their cab sauv before taking that first sip.

Now that I’ve told you why red wine tastes like that, you can decide for yourself what to do with this information. Boast about your grape knowledge the next time you bring wine to a party, or invest in a nice aerator to stick into all the wines you know will have that taste you don’t necessarily like.

Either way, I hope you find a way to enjoy reds even more than you might’ve before. The more you know, right?

2 thoughts on “Why red wine tastes like *that*”

  1. Very informative. I am not a fan of red wine and some of the facts that you stated made sense to me as to why I do not enjoy red wine as much as I enjoy white wine. The tingling sensation that red wines leave on my tongue is very intense making me not enjoy the taste of the wine. Also, red wines tend to give me severe headaches. Are you aware of anything in red wines that causes headaches? Thank you!

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