Although the four main flavors - sweet, salty, sour, and bitter are all your tongue is really capable of tasting, the long lasting impression that wine leaves in your mouth is far more complex. When you drink or taste wine, your taste buds and your sense of smell are involved, adding to the way you interpret wine overall. The flavors, aromas, and sensations that wine is comprised of provide the interaction that you taste when you sample wine.

Sweetness is something that wines are well known for. With most types of wine, grapes are responsible for the sweet taste. Grapes contain a lot of sugar, which breaks the yeast down into alcohol. The grapes and yeast that were used to produce the wine will leave behind various sugars, which your tongue will be able to quickly detect. Once your tongue detects these various sugars, the stimulation of sweetness from the wine will be ever so present in your mouth.

Alcohol is also present in wine, although your tongue does not really know how to decipher the taste of alcohol. Even though the tongue does not really taste alcohol, the alcohol is present in the mouth. The alcohol found in wine will dilate blood vessels and therefore intensify all of the other flavors found in the wine. After you have samples a few types of wine, the alcohol level can easily have an effect on your taste buds, making it hard to distinguish other drinks that you may have.

Another flavor is acidity, which will effect the sugars. With the proper balance of acidity, the overall flavor of wine can be very overwhelming. Once you taste wine that contains it, the flavor of the acidity will be well known to your tongue. Although acidity is great with wine, too much of it will leave a very sharp taste. With the right levels, acidity will bring the flavors of the grape and fruits alive in your mouth - providing you with the perfect taste.

Yet another effect of flavor are tannins, which are the proteins found in the skins of grapes and other fruits. If a wine has the right amount of tannins, it will give your tongue a great feel, and bring in the sensations of the other flavors. Once a wine starts to age, the tannins will begin to breakdown in the bottle, giving you a softer feel to the taste. Tannins are essential for the taste of wine - providing the wine has been properly aged.

The last flavor associated with wine is oak. Although oak is not put into the wine during the manufacturing process, it is actually transferred during the aging process, as most wines will spend quite a bit of time in oak barrels. Depending on how long the wine is left in the oak barrel or cask, the ability to extract the flavor will vary. Most often times, wine will be aged just enough to where the oak taste is visibly there - and adds the perfect sentiment to the taste.

Although there are other flavors involved with the taste of wine, they are not as present as those listed above. The above flavors are the most present in wine, and also the flavors that you need to get more familiar with. Before you try to taste wine or distinguish flavors, you should always learn as much you can about the components responsible for the flavors. This way - you will know more about what you are tasting and you will truly be able to appreciate wine.

About the Author

Paul Duxbury writes extensively about Wine. You can read more of his articles at Fine Wines

Wine Delivery and More

Exploring The Flavours Of Wine


Although the four main flavors - sweet, salty, sour, and bitter are all your tongue is really capable of tasting, the long lasting impression that win...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Wine Delivery Products we recommend

The FTD White Assortment Basket - Standard


An assortment of blooming white plants and green plants in a basket will help celebrate the day. Any day can become a special occasion with this lush arrangement. #C33-2960 C33-2960S


Price: 59.99 USD



Headlines on Wine Delivery

Cutting Costs on Delivery

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:39:33 PDT
If your ordering a bottle wine, or if you are a winery selling direct. Here are a couple of tips you should know.

If You Can't Get To The Award-Winning Wine… LoveWashingtonWine.com Brings The Wine To You

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:01 PDT

Award-Winning California Wine Club Announces Speedy Delivery of Exclusive, Hard-to-Find Wines Right to Your Doorstep

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:00:01 PDT
(PRWEB) June 8, 2007 -- The Gold Medal Wine Club is offering members the opportunity to purchase some of the world's finest, award-winning wines, with expedited delivery right to your front door...

Wine-Doors: Package manager for Wine

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:00:07 PDT
Wine-doors is an application designed to make installing windows software on Linux, Solaris or other Unix systems easier. Wine-doors is essentially a package management tool for windows software on Linux systems. Most Linux desktop users are familiar with package management style application delivery, so it made sense to apply this model to windows

Wine-Doors Package Manager for Windows Apps in Linux!

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:31:44 PDT
Wine-doors is an application designed to make installing windows software on Linux, Solaris or other Unix systems easier. Wine-doors is essentially a package management tool for windows software on Linux systems. Most Linux desktop users are familiar with package management style application delivery, so it made sense to apply this model to windows

You Can Have My Zinfandel When You Pry It From My Cold, Dead Hands

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:55:37 PDT
“Support the National Rifle Association and America’s second Amendment rights by purchasing your wine through the NRA Wine Club and have the convenience of home delivery on the finest wines that vineyards all over the world have to offer.”


Burgandy Wine
Food Wine

Labels: Temecula Wineries | Total Wine

&type=page">