Grape's A-Peel

What do tannins do for wine? Well, for starters they don't create the garnet color of red wines as some believe. The grape skins are responsible for the hue of red that each bottle contains. Tannins come from the skins, seeds and stems (if used) of the grape. They are also the result of the aging process from using oak barrels. Tannins give longevity to a wine and also contribute to its texture, body and length of finish.

Cabernet's are the most tannic of the wines while Chardonnay's and Sauvignon Blanc's are the least. Cabernet's fermentation time plus skin contact time and then a light press create the higher levels of concentration. Chardonnay grapes typically go directly to press when they arrive at a winery so the skins, pulp and seeds are usually not in contact with the juice for more than two hours. This results in a minimum amount of tannins extracted.

The wait staff at my restaurant just took a class on the process of bottling and the different types of aging and how it affects the amount of tannins in a bottle. Soon after that, I was lucky enough to overhear a man and woman arguing over what tannins were and they asked my opinion. When I heard their respective responses, I suggested they make a wager on who was right and the loser could buy dinner. Let's just say the woman who was drinking beer bought dinner. I did bring her several tastes of wines starting with a White Zinfandel to a Chardonnay to a Cabernet Sauvignon. That is a fabulous perk my restaurant offers, letting guests try different wines so they can figure out what they like. I told her a little about the aging process so that explaining what tannins were would make more sense. I think she appreciated the fact that I took so much time to give her a little information.

The reason some people don't like red wine is because of the tannins and that's fine. There is nothing wrong with ordering a lighter or sweeter style wine with dinner even if you are having steak. I try and reassure guests if they act embarrassed about what they are ordering as if they are making a mistake. Hey, to each his own!