If you have ever read any wine tasting notes, you have no doubt read the word tannin.
So, what is a tannin?
I don’t want to give a science class but I thought for some it might be interesting to understand what tannins are. Tannin is a naturally occurring polyphenol found in plants, seeds, wood, leaves, and fruit skins. I said I didn’t want to give a science lesson but maybe I will at least explain polyphenol. Polyphenol is a micro molecule made of phenols, which are complex bonds of oxygen and hydrogen molecules. Wine tannins are found mostly in red wine but can occur in white wine that is stored in wooden barrels. In red wine, polyphenols are released from grape skins, seeds and stems when they are saturated in the juice from grapes after being pressed to make wine. The effect of tannins are expressed in the dryness of the wine. So, the more tannin, the more dryness!