There are hundreds of terms commonly used to describe the tastes of wine. But did you know that most of these descriptors are not tastes in the way we think of taste? In fact, most of the descriptors used to describe a wine are not processed in the mouth, but rather the olfactory epithelium which lies on the roof of the nasal cavity and is directly responsible for processing our sense of smell. The irony behind all of this, and getting back to the title of this blog about how your wine feels, is that very few people think about how their food or drink feels when they are assessing an opinion of whatever it is they are eating or drinking. Despite this, it is always the texture of a wine that is described when I ask people to try and tell me a little bit about their wine preferences.

People usually use words like, smooth, bitter, tart, aftertaste or length of finish, sweet, dry, spicy, chewy, when telling me what they are looking for. Sound familiar? None of these are tastes. They are textures that fall into four of the five characteristics perceived by the receptors on the tongue -bitterness, acidity, sweetness, umami or savory (saltiness does not apply to wine). While some spice qualities are processed as smells, I find most people are referring to the sensation of heat that can be attributed to higher than normal alcohol content in some wine. Though not a classic taste category, this is another characteristic that is most assuredly felt.

Are there any foods you absolutely despise? Take a second to think about why you hate them. Is it the flavor or a texture that bothers you? For many of the common ones I hear; raw oysters, chewy liver, a rare steak, raw fish, etc., the answer is obvious. Wine enjoys a similar predicament.

I’d like to share a secret with you that I think the majority of self proclaimed wine connoisseurs do not understand. The key to understanding wine on a deeper level is to understand texture through and through before you go reading about the Grand Crus of Burgundy, the First Growths of Bordeaux, the concept of Terroir, and the endless list of great producers around the world. I’d equate this to trying to learn Calculus without first knowing Algebra and Geometry. I’ve met many people who can rattle off scores of the names of the world’s best wines without the slightest understanding of what they are made of, what food they would compliment, and most importantly how to best enjoy them. I insist that the key to great food and wine pairing is texture first, flavor second. So here are the basics. All wine can be broken down from a textural perspective into the following categories.

Acidity: All wines have acid. Cooler climates will result in grapes with more acid and warmer climates will result in grapes with less acid. Even in the same climate however, some grape varietals will by the nature of their DNA have more acid than others. Acid is good. It makes the mouth water for a palate cleansing effect. It keeps a wine’s fruity flavors fresh and crisp. And it helps drive a long finish in a high quality wine, and serves to balance the other textural components of a wine. Acidity gives the sensation of sourness or tartness. Acidity is often mistakenly confused with bitterness, the mouth drying sensation that is described shortly.

Residual Sugar(Sweetness)/Alcohol Content(Heat): I like to mention these two components together because I think it helps to remember that they are inversely related to each other. When grape juice ferments into wine, yeast convert the grape sugar into alcohol. If the yeast finish their job completely, there is no residual sugar in the wine so there is absolutely zero sweetness to it. It is at this point bone dry. But if the job is interrupted somewhere along the way, the result is a sweet wine with less than full alcoholic potential. It is important to note that sweet only means sweet. It doesn’t mean tangerine, honey, apple, pear, or melon - those again are aromas tasted through your sense of smell. Sweet is merely the cloying, sticky, feeling of sugar coating the mouth. Having trouble grasping this, eat a teaspoon of plain white sugar. It has no flavor - it is just SWEET. Sugar coats the mouth exactly opposite to the way acid strips the mouth and then makes it water. Because of this effect, sugar can balance out acidity and tannin in wine, as well as work wonders against the burning effect of spicy food. Alcohol provides the sense of heat on the palate and is commonly described with pepper and spice terms. Bitterness(Tannin): This tends to be a hard one for people to grasp and is often mistakenly associated with acidity, but I think I have a good way of explaining tannin. Bitterness is the sensation of the drying of the mouth. First, think of tannin as a bunch of microscopic solid material suspended and/or dissolved into the liquid of your wine such that you can’t see it with the naked eye. It is leached into the wine from anything solid that the juice comes into contact with, such as grape skins, stems, seeds, oak barrels, most of which does not play a role in the production of white wine with exception of oak barrels. It is what gives red and rose wine its color. It is also what makes your tongue and teeth purple after drinking it. It creates the velvety texture of red wine that is the backbone of its enjoyment. Over time, this material gradually falls out of solution and collects at the bottom of the bottle, which explains why a wine becomes smoother and its acidity more noticeable over time. Tannin is made up polyphenolic compounds that are now scientifically proven to promote health benefits. It is also loaded with the antioxidants that allow for a wine to age well over time without tasting oxidized.

So the next time you raise a glass, think about how the wine feels before anything else. I hope you find this useful in developing a better understanding of wine. I insist again that it is better to master theses simple textural components of wine before any attempts at filling your brain with the endless amount of information that a passion for wine inevitable make you do. You may even find yourself enlightened as to why you love some of the foods and drinks you love and hate some of those you hate. Cheers!

Eric Arsenault is the Sommelier for The Chop House and the Director of Wine and Spirits for Mainstreet Ventures.