What are ‘tannins’ in wine? Tannins come from the skins and the seeds of grapes. They can also come from oak barrels during ageing. They support the balance and age- ability of a wine and are part of what keeps a wine ‘together’ over the years. Tannins are can be astringent and make your mouth pucker slightly when you have a glass of wine. Tea also has tannins, so does dark chocolate (think of that yummy bitterness) and almonds (in the skins). Sometimes a wine with pronounced tannins can seem a bit too astringent. However, when you drink that same wine with a juicy steak, the tannins in the wine will start to bind to the proteins in the steak and cut through the fats in the most delicious way! This is why red wine is great with steak or any other rich, fatty foods. Tannins, are also called polyphenols and they are antioxidants –  so they are quite healthy! They also give wine the structure it needs to age well. Cabernet Sauvignon is known as a wine that has high tannins and good ageing potential whereas the tannins in Merlot are softer and more rounded. White wines can display some tannins, if they have been aged in oak but generally, red wines have allot more tannins that white wines. #wineknowledge #learnaboutwine #wine #winetasting #winetastingtips