Tannin 101

How To Detect Tannins In Wine

You can detect tannins by how drying a wine feels — it sometimes feels as if they’ve vacuumed all the saliva right out of your mouth! It’s easiest to notice this sensation on your gums and upper inner lips! Similar to the astringent and drying sensation, you get sipping black tea (especially if the tea is cold) or eating a square of dark chocolate. Note: It's important to note the difference between bitterness and astringency. Bitterness refers to taste, whereas astringency refers to the feeling - a tactile sensation.

Pairing Tannin With Food

Tannins were built to pair with rich and/or fatty foods. This is because tannins love to bind to proteins. In fact, if there aren't proteins from something you're eating, tannins will simply bind to the proteins in your saliva! (This is what causes the drying sensation, as the tannins bind to protein molecules in your mouth.) When tannin molecules bind onto proteins, they cancel each other out. It also creates a palate-cleansing effect - your palate won't get tired of the weighty flavours (since they are scraped from your palate) and instead will be stimulated to take another bite! Also, the wine’s astringency counteracts fattiness, creating a perfectly balanced (using the contrasting formula) pairing. The brilliance of a fatty steak paired with Cabernet is not just a classic, it's science! Note: Wagyu steak sold separately!

Three Gripping Thrillers

1. Above 700 Pinot Noir 2025 (Low Tannin) This is such a pretty wine. You can really see the fragrance and gentle cherry fruit that Tumbarumba is famous for, with a subtle minty spiciness and elegant tannins that all make this feel so bright and incredibly fresh. Very bit the light cool climate Pinot Noir, that vitality is only helped by the wine maturation in older oak barrels (that have no oaky flavour) to make sure that cherry fruit really shines. 2. Raywell Grenache 2022 (Medium Tannin) Raywell Wines is our collaboration with Tim Adams, with an aim to provide the goods from Clare Valley. The Raywell wines always have a focus on structure and being able to drink them straight away. This Grenache is a perfect example with cherry berry spice and soft, plush tannins. 3. Woodvale Vintners 'Sharegarden' Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (High Tannin) There's nothing half-hearted about this chunky Clare Valley red. It's awash with dark berries, dark chocolate, and other dark things, with some mint and a little cedary cigar-box character just for good measure. Oh yes, this is full-bodied red wine for sitting fireside (it would even taste good out of a mug) that warms up your soul and makes the world right again.