Consigli DiVini - » Do You Really Know What Tannin is? (Part 1)

When you’ve heard the word ‘wine’, you might have often heard the word ‘tannin’ too.

Tannin is a word that’s thrown around quite a bit, but can you say you really know what it means? Hand on heart?

If you do know, then good, it means you can explain it to the rest of us!

What is tannin, anyway? What is it made from? And why is it mentioned so much in the wine world? Is wine that’s high, low or without tannin a good or bad thing? Can tannin be found in red and white wines or just in one type of wine?

So what’s tannin? Well, tannin is a bitter sharp-tasting compound naturally found in grapes (the seeds, stalk, and just under the skin). It can also be found in such things as tea, other unripe fruit and oak.

Grapes are no different from animals in terms of ensuring the survival of their species. Some animals might emit odours to deter their predators. Others, snakes for instance, might produce venom to protect themselves. Similarly, a grape produces tannin as a deterrent. It produces the bitter substance to protect its seeds from being picked on by birds or mammals before they’ve had a chance to ripen.

When their seeds do start to ripen, grapes produce less tannin and instead sweeten to attract birds. The birds then feed themselves senseless on the sweet fruit, and in flying away, they spread and drop the ripened seeds further afield, which is exactly what the grapes wanted all along! - the chance for their seeds to disperse and pollinate. Survival of the grape species reaffirmed!

Ok, the above might make for an interesting story…

…but why, if tannin tastes so sharp and bitter, is it so important in wines?

To be continued…in Part 2.