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Component Tasting
While you can taste wines that are 100% derived from a single vintage, most wines are a blend of two or more components. These components might be different vintages (ages), different grapes, or different regions. For this reason, wineries offer Component Tasting events.
Visitors sample a "base wine" and then a try variety of components in order to understand how vintners achieve a well-balanced flavor.
- Brix - refers to the percentage of sugar in the grapes or wine. Most often the term is used to describe the sweetness of the grapes as they ripen and at harvest. The sugar level will determine the amount of alcohol in the finished wine.
- Total Acidity - a measure of the sum of all the organic acids in juice or wine. Total acidity has considerable influence on your enjoyment of the wine. Wines below 3.0 are excessively tart. A pH that's low, but balanced, increases desirable flavor compounds, inhibits bacterial growth, and produces more and better red color. A low pH will also contribute to the wine's longevity.
- Tannin - comes from the grape skins, seeds, stems and to a lesser degree, barrels, when they're new. Winemakers value tannin because it's a natural preservative, an anti-oxidant that helps the wine to age gracefully, and contributes to the texture and structure of the wine. Red wines are nearly always higher in tannin than whites because the reds are fermented with the grape skins and seeds, while whites are usually pressed to remove the skins and seeds prior to fermentation.
- Alcohol - gives wine body and a good "mouth feel." Wines that are slightly too high in alcohol often seem sweet and have a hot after-taste. If wine is too low in alcohol, it may feel light and unsatisfying on the palate.
Understanding some of the jargon associated with wine can add to the experience of visiting wineries and tasting wine. A great resource is this Glossary of Terms, which addresses all things related to Taste, Smell and Color.
