Tannins?

[tandkvd]

As I am learning more about wines. I keep comming accross the refference of tannins. Could someone inform me as to what tannins are, in laymens terms?

I was informed at a wine shop that wines such as Merlots are produced aroud the tannins. And wines such as Pinot Noir are produced around.... I can't exactly recall the term he used.

I guess I just didn't want to admit to him that I did not know what the heck he was talking about.

[mrdutton]

Courtesy of www.stratsplace.com:

One of the major components of red wines .. this astringent stuff is found in the seeds, skins and stems of grapes. During the making of wine, the longer the wine stays in contact with these .. the more tannin there is. It helps to age red wine but like everything else, it must be in balance with the fruit. Many young reds suffer from being too tannic. Many times fining* is used to remove some of the tannins. The best way to describe how it effects your palate is to brew some VERY strong tea. That "mouth puckering" that you get along the sides of your mouth and tongue is caused by tannin.

Hope above helps a bit........

Also:

When you see a fresh water stream and the water is colored brown, it is brown because of the tannins is has absorbed from leaves and other plant materials that have fallen into the stream. If you taste it, it is somewhat bitter and puckery, just as in the strong brewed tea example noted above.

[winoweenie]

Hi Tankdvid. You need wine 101. Buy the book " Wine For Dummies " as has been recomended multiple times on this thread. It's impossible to hand guide you thru wines without your having a basic knowledge. WW

[tandkvd]

Thanks Mr. D, your info helped alot. I tought it had something to do with the skins.

And to WW, I am sorry that my question was a little too basic for someone of your knowledge of wine. But this is however the thread for novices such as myself.
Yes, I have began reading a book geared toward the wine novice(The Everything Wine Book by Danny May & Andy Sharp). But I like to get information from many sources. And I have gained a wealth of knowledge from this web-site, especialy from Stevebody & Inkeeper.
In My position at work, I am training service technitions in the Commercial Heating & A/C field. It is my openion that the only dumb question is the one not asked.

A quick quote from the introduction of the above mentioned book "...wine has become associsted with an unfortunate degree of social stuffiness, and a wine snob can be the most annoying snob of all. Because of such people, many wine novices have an unreasonable fear of looking foolish."

[Innkeeper]

Understand how you feel. I don't think anyone accused you of asking a dumb question, and I agree with you on that subject. WW recommended the book, "Wine For Dummies." We recommend that for all novices, as it has a concise, easy to understand format as the whole "Dummies" series does. Recommending them does not mean to imply that the recommendee is dumb.

[Thomas]

tandkvd, in defense of ww, I think what he was trying to tell you is that your question, tiny as it seems, is a large one. The answer you have been given, accurate as it is, represents a small portion of the tannin subject. While tannic acid is part of the make-up of wine by way of the grapes, there are other ways for it to be introduced in wine. And its effect is not just as simple as to induce proper aging, although that is among its major influences on wine. As for fining tannins away--that is a dangerously easy-sounding solution to a highly tannic wine.

[mrdutton]

Tandkvd - in the middle of my post I said:

"I hope that helps a bit..............."

Which means what WW and IK and others have said above. It was NOT the complete answer.

When it comes to wine, we all have a lot to learn. To paraphrase: "So much wine, so little time........."

We all hope you enter the world of wine and that you learn and continue to learn..... At least that is what I believe.

As you develop your taste for the unlimited offerings from around the world, you will come to realize that you have just begun as have we all.

[winoweenie]

Sorry Tankvid if you took my answer to reflect on your noviceness. It is just for your understanding and development of wine experiences you need to have a " walking-around understanding of the most basic of terms. Hades-Chimes ole pal I've used the book lots in my time. Hope you stay on board for meeny yars' and when IK heads for the great cooking school in the sky you'll have enough experience and knowlredge to be the " Easterly Moderlator ".WW

[tandkvd]

I do appoligize for my knee-jerk reaction. It wasen't the refference to Wine for Dummies that I took exception. I think that the Dummies series of books are very good. I do have Windows 98 for Dummies, and will purchase WFD soon.
I read into your post that you thought that I was expecting the Wine Board to hand walk me through my wine experiense.
I have only been serious about wine for a couple of months. I have been more targeted at finding different quality wines to try, than the what's and the how's of wine. I have read the first few chapters of the afore mentioned book and it led me through the process of wine making and has answered many of my questions. Altough I realize that I have only begun.
As I have said before, I believe that this is a great website. And I look forward to the benifits of the wealth of knowledge presented by the Wine Board.

[winoweenie]

Welcome Aboard and question as often as you like. WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]