Putting Flavors into Words: Tannic

In this weeks tasting, we will be exploring the tannic element of wine.  Tannins are a normal component found in the skins, stems and seeds of grapes and when steeped, the juice soaks up the red color along with the tannins when making red wine.  Tannin is more of a texture that you feel in your mouth rather than a flavor.  Robinson compares the feeling on the tongue to accidentally biting the stringy part of the banana peel rather than the banana.  It is drying and makes you feel like puckering your mouth.  

The intensity of tannin varies depending on type of red grape.  Grapes with thicker skins, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, have more tannin than grapes with thinner skins such as Pinot Noir.  The color of wine follows the same guidelines so the darker the color of a red wine, the more tannin.  Tannin can also vary with the amount of skin contact the juice has.  The longer the juice soaks with the skins, the more tannic the wine will be.  Aging wine can actually reduce the intensity of the tannins leaving a smooth and more balanced wine.  

As with the last tasting, we tasted a wine with and without this characteristic.  Robinson suggests tasting a low-tannin Pinot Noir and a high-tannin Cabernet Sauvignon.  Out of the list of wines provided, I chose the 2008 Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir from California and the 2007 Franciscan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.   

The Pinot was a very translucent ruby color and the Cab was a deep reddish-purple.  The Pinot had a subtle fragrance with a very smooth and silky taste.  I'm sure this is why Pinot Noir is so popular....it definitely seems versatile and not overwhelming to the average drinker.  The Cab was much more intense in smell and in flavor.  It was a little tangy and was definitely more dry to the point of drying out my entire mouth.  In the pictures below, the Pinot Noir is on the left and the Cabernet Sauvignon is on the right.  

 Robinson says that this tannin character is the reason Cabernet Sauvignons go so well with steak or cheese.  She says that the fats in the protein  coat your tongue and allow the tannins to pass over your mouth without completely drying it out.  I can't wait to learn more about pairing wine with food! 

The Big Reds

This week’s tasting was a continuation of last week.  We tasted the three red wines from the Big Six grapes:  Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot and Syrah/Shiraz.  I lucked out again this week because my husband was given a nice bottle of Shiraz for Christmas and Emily had a bottle of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon on hand.  A group of six of us got together to partake in this tasting and one of the guests brought some fantastic cheeses from Venissimo that paired with each of the wines.  I apologize ahead of time that I was not able to take as many pictures as I would have liked to.

The red wines that we sampled were:  Felton Road Pinot Noir 2009 

                                                    (New Zealand)

              Dusted Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 

              (Washington)

                                                    Schild Estate Shiraz 2004 
                                                    (Barossa Valley, Australia)

We started with the lightest bodied red wine, Pinot Noir.  The color was a reddish-purple but it was very translucent and the fragrance was subtle.  The light color translated to the mouth feel which was light while at the same time being very silky.  Next, we tasted the Cabernet Sauvignon.  This was my favorite wine of the night!  It was fuller bodied and much more fragrant than the Pinot Noir.  The texture was extra smooth and velvety….so delicious!  Last but not least we tasted the Shiraz.  This was the fullest bodied of them all and was a deep purple.  When swirled in a glass, this wine really sticks to the edges.  It coated the mouth in the same fashion with deep flavors that lingered.  

So these are the big six grapes that make up the foundation of the wine market.  I already feel that I have a better handle on wine, but know I have a long and enjoyable road ahead of me.  The next tasting will focus on putting flavors into words…oh boy!