It is both interesting and important to note that the flavor of the wine is a part of its scent. In reality, our taste buds can only actually discern four different flavor sensations: salty, sweet, bitter, and sour. However, our noses have an incredible ability to distinguish between hundreds of different nuanced scents! So, when looking to taste the flavor of wine, always remember to swirl the liquid around inside the glass, take a big sniff, and then take some wine into your mouth and hold it there in order to fully appreciate the flavors.
Many different factors contribute to each wine’s different flavor palate. During fermentation, the wine takes on acidity, tannins, sweetness, alcohol, and aroma compounds. We can explore these different qualities, and how they affect the taste.
Acidity: Wine tends to have a tart flavor, and this is owed to the acidity level of the wine. In terms of the PH scale, wine can range from between 2.5 to 4.5
Tannins: Tannins are found in red wine (and also tea!) and create that astringent flavor present in red wine.
Sweetness: All the 5 types of wine can have a huge variation of dryness to sweetness. If a wine is described as ‘dry’ it means it is not having any sweetness, and in opposition, a sweet wine can be very sweet, like honey or sugar syrup.
Alcohol: It is the alcoholic content of the wine that creates that warm, burning feeling at the back of the throat and coats the mouth with a rich spiciness. Wine usually has an ABV (alcohol by volume) of between 10 and 15 percent. But of course, there are exceptions to the rule as, for example, Port is a fortified wine and can be around 20% ABV! If you want to buy fortified wine online then check out our great selection here.
Aroma Compounds: It is these aroma compounds that give wine its different flavors. For example, red wines can have different aromas that create flavors of red and dark berries. Plus, red wine tends to be aged in oak barrels, which infuses the wine with a flavoring of vanilla, and spices such as cinnamon, allspice, and clove. White wine leans more towards aromas such as those of white-fleshed fruits, including peaches or nectarines, apricots, and citrus fruits.