Simply Put, wine Tid Bits! Tasting Structure on the palate*

Acidity is that sharp tingly feeling you get on the sides of your tongue when you take a sip of something tart and acidic. It's like  taking a sip of lemonade. It makes your mouth water and you thirst for more. 

That's the feeling I'm talking about!

It works the same way in wine. The more acidity in wine, the more you salivate. The less acidity in wine, the less you salivate.

Tannis are compounds found in coffee, tea, chocolate, wood, leaves, and bark. In wine, the tannins usually come from the stems, seeds, and skins of the grape and sometimes from the wine barrels they are aged in. Tannins taste bitter and leave your mouth feeling dry and fuzzy. If the wine is high in tannin, it might feel like a little wool Christmas sweater on your teeth and gums. 

I know it sounds strange, but its actually a helpful way of determining a level of tannin. How dry does my mouth feel?Does the dryness remind me of wearing a wool sweater (high tannin), a long sleeved shirt (medium tannin), or a thin tank top (low tannin). 

The body of a wine is the weight of the wine on your palate. The heaviness (or lack thereof). Simply put, the more body a wine has, the heavier it feels in your mouth. Consider the differences in milk types. 

Light Bodied Wine: Skim Milk

Medium Bodied Wine: 2% Milk

Full Bodied Wine: Whole Milk

It's a comparison used throughout the wine world to simplify the concept of light to full body ranges. In a later Tid Bit, we'll dive deeper into these topics, so keep reading!