There are some really weird wine terms out there, and they can make it awfully confusing understanding wine. However, some of them are really good to understand as they help you understand the wine you’re drinking. They help you experience it in a different way and articulate the difference you taste between wines. One of those terms is wine texture, and today we’re going to unpack what this means so you know what it means!
Wine texture can be really important to the wine tasting experience, but it seems like a weird thing to have in your glass. Often when we think of texture it’s things we can touch and feel with our hands. Something like a rough fabric or a smooth surface. However, texture can be found in what we eat, and what we drink too! And wine texture can impact the experience of drinking a wine drastically. So let’s unpack what wine texture is, how to detect it, and what it means.
What is wine texture?
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Wine texture can be used to describe the sensation you get in your mouth from drinking wine. This is also called mouthfeel, but that’s yet another wine term! Personally I like to think of it in terms of food. The feeling in your mouth of eating a crisp green apple is very different to tasting a rich piece of dark chocolate. Each has a very different feeling in your mouth, and this is the same with wine.
Each wine has a different texture based on its variety, how the wine was made and how it was aged. These factors impact the acidity and tannins in the wine, which change how the wine feels in your mouth. Although it can be easier to taste in red wines, white wines and even sparkling wines can have texture too. A prime example is someone describing a Champagne or Chardonnay as creamy.
Why is wine texture important?
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The wine texture is important as it adds another dimension to tasting wine. You’ve got how the wine smells, and what it tastes like, but the texture adds personality. When the balance is right, you’ve got yourself a great wine! But when it’s off, it could be enough to turn you away from a bottle. Acidity, tannin, alcohol and sugar either work together or against one another to create the texture, and the result can either be good or very bad.
Although aroma and flavour are very important to tasting wine, understanding wine texture adds another element to the tasting experience. It’s all about the balance of the wine. Like eating a delicious meal, if the balance of texture is off, you might not enjoy the meal as much. But adding something like a hint of crunch, or a dash of acidity will really bring it to the next level. The same goes with wine – a wine can feel like a thin silk scarf or a thick wool sweater. It’s all about thinking about how it feels in your mouth.
What influences wine texture?
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The main contributors to wine texture are acidity, tannin, alcohol and sugar. It is hard to pinpoint one thing that impacts texture, but instead, these come together to create a textural sensation.
Tannin has a big impact on texture, which is why we often find texture in red wines because they have more tannin generally. Wine texture can be used to describe the quality of the tannins in a wine. A good tannic structure might make the wine feel silky, plush or velvety. Something that is young might have a grippier texture. There can also be an absence of tannins which creates a fine-grained texture.
Alcohol also impacts wine texture. Higher alcohol wines tend to have a greater viscosity which means they usually feel a bit thicker in the mouth. You can try this by comparing wine with 14% alcohol versus one with 12.5%.
Sugar can also impact texture but on a molecular level. Without getting into the science, these can impact the richness and creaminess of a wine. The compounds in Champagne, for example, are what helps contribute to the rich mouthfeel. Finally, acidity also impacts how a wine feels in the mouth. More acid means the wine feels less velvety and smooth as you taste it, as the acid gives the wine a kick.
It can also be impacted by winemaking. A great example of this is creamy, which is used to describe some white and sparkling wines. Creaminess tends to come from being aged in oak, or the result of malo-lactic fermentation. This is something you find in those buttery Chardonnays that you will either love or hate!
Common descriptors of wine texture
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So how do you describe wine texture, now that you know what it is? Here are some frequently used terms so you can start having a think about texture as you sip:
- Creamy
- Smooth
- Rich
- Lean
- Velvety
- Supple
- Fat
- Oily
- Supple
- Juicy
- Silky
- Voluptuous
- Succulent
So should you be looking for wine texture?
The short answer is, yep, it’s definitely something worth looking out for! Wine texture really adds to tasting wine. Along with aroma and flavour, understanding texture helps to experience the wine differently. By picking up how the wine feels in your mouth you’ll understand more about its balance, and whether you like to drink it or not!
So next time you’re sipping on a glass of wine, stop for a moment and consider how it feels in your mouth. Is it creamy? Soft? Or is it grippy? These cues will tell you so much about the wine you’re drinking!