01/21/08 Monday Email

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Today we are answering questions from the email. Recently a listener wrote to ask, "Could you elaborate on the difference between smelling and tasting tannin? I am having a hard time with this." I love this question! Well it is no surprise that the listener is having trouble-smelling tannins. Because it is not possible to smell them. Experiencing tannin is a sensation rather than a smell. Tannin has a distinctive astringent effect in your mouth. In dries or puckers the tongue and inside the cheeks and gums. Wine tannins come from the skins mostly and from oak barrels, the wine may have spent time in. The astringent sensation will vary depending upon the strength and kinds of tannins present. They may feel gritty and coarse or fine and softer by comparison to the rougher ones. They may also be softer and less noticeable in wines with a higher acid or in red wines that have aged and most of the tannin has dissipated into the sediment at the bottom of the bottle. So stop being so hard on yourself trying to smell those tannins. You were right you cannot smell them  as it turns out tannin is just one of those flavor elements in wine that cannot be smelled. You will not really know if tannin is there until you put the wine into your mouth. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at Vine to Wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.