Knowing the basic characteristics of wine will help you develop your palate and find your favorites. You will definitely have a better chance of getting what you love. A wine bar and restaurant says that classifying wines by their fundamental characteristics is the best way to learn about their taste.

Wine characteristics

Sweetness – This is also known as the dryness level. The human perception of taste begins at the tip of the tongue. The first impression of a wine is how sweet it is. To taste sweet, you need to focus your attention on the taste buds on the tip of your tongue. If your taste buds are tingling, it indicates sweetness.

Acidity – Sour and spicy are the acidity in food and drinks. The acidity of flavor is usually confused with the higher alcohol taste. In fact, it is common for wines grown in cooler vintages to have higher acidity. These feel lighter as they appear “sparkling”. If you like a richer and rounder one, choose those with less acidity. Characteristics of an acid wine include a gravelly feeling when you rub your tongue against your palate and the feeling that you can sing. Your mouth also feels wet or looks like you just bit into an apple.

Tannin – This is often the misunderstood characteristic because it is confused with the level of dryness. The tannin dries out the mouth. Tannin in wine means that it has phenolic compounds that add bitterness to a wine. Phenolics are found in the seeds and skins of wine grapes. In addition, it can be added to a wine with the use of wood aging. The tannin tastes of herbs and is generally described as astringent. It brings complexity, balance and structure to the wine. Most importantly, this will make the drink last longer.

Fruit – The wines are characterized mainly by their main fruit flavors. The experts strongly emphasized that tasting fruit flavors will help you better define your preferences. For example, those with strawberry notes lead to a different set of varietal wines compared to those that taste like blackberries. Also, the level of fruitiness can lead to different growing regions. Red wine is made from red fruits like raspberries or dark fruits like blueberries and blackberries. White wine, on the other hand, is often made with peach and yellow apple or lemon and lime.

Body – This is the result of many factors such as the variety of the wine, the level of alcohol, the vintage, where it is from and how it is made. This is a snapshot of the overall impression of the wine.