Low-tannin, medium-tannin, tannic, very tannic – familiar words for red wine lovers. Tannins can sometimes be intimidating, and at restaurants people may ask for a wine with as little tannin as possible. But should you really avoid tannins? What exactly are they, and do they have any benefits? Let's take a look.
Tannins are so-called tannic acids that dissolve into wine from the skins, seeds, and stems of the grapes used. They also come from oak barrels in which wine is aged. White wines, on the other hand, contain very little tannin because in white wine production the grape skins are typically separated out. However, aging in oak barrels can bring tannins to white wine as well. There are also white wines made with skin contact. These include, for example, the so-called orange wines.
So what do tannins do? Tannins play a role in wine preservation, making wines longer-lived and able to withstand aging. In terms of wine flavor, they're described as bringing a mouth-drying sensation. However, tannins typically soften over time as the wine ages. They also round out when paired with the right food. For example, long-aged Bordeaux red wines are tannic, and they pair particularly well with red meat.
Perhaps the most classic question and eternal puzzle is whether the red wine headaches or facial flushing some people experience are caused by tannins. However, tannins are usually not the culprits – headaches and other symptoms have been traced to histamine from the grapes, which can cause symptoms in some people. Even if the cause isn't in the tannins, their levels and histamine levels do follow the same pattern, since tannic wine has more extraction and therefore also more histamine.
Should you give up red wine if you notice you're sensitive to the histamine it contains? Not necessarily. Some people do and find it better, but since histamine and tannins follow the same pattern, you can try low-tannin or even completely tannin-free wines. For example, light red wines that haven't been aged in oak barrels might be an option.
Red wine grapes classically considered low-tannin include Grenache/Garnacha, Pinot Noir, and Barbera, though there are exceptions even among these.
Winemaking evolves over time, and wine styles change along with it. Just a few decades ago, tannic wines were common, but nowadays wines are made with lower tannins with the idea that they don't require decades of aging. So there's less extraction. Instead of oak barrels, neutral aging methods are often used, such as steel tanks, cement vats, amphora clay vessels in the case of natural wines, or more rarely glass bottles. Today's wines offer plenty of options for every occasion – with tannins, light tannins, or even none at all.
Below you'll find a few recommendations for wines with lower than average tannins, made with the classically low-tannin grapes Grenache, Pinot Noir, and Barbera.
