Analyze Flavors Of Wine

Although the four main varieties - 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 variations, flavors and sensations that wine consists of giving the interaction that you taste when you sample wine. 

Sweetness is something that wines are known for. With most types of wine, grapes are responsible for the sweet taste. Grapes contain a lot of sugar, which yeast breaks down into alcohol. Grapes and yeast that was 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 to be very present in the mouth. 

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

Another variant is acidity, which will lead to sugar. With the right balance of acidity, the overall flavor of wine to be very overwhelming. When you taste wine that contains it, the flavor of acidity to be known by 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 varieties of grapes and fruits alive in the mouth - to give you 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 tannin, it will give your tongue a great feel and bring in the sensations of the other versions. Once a wine starts to age, the tannins begin to breakdown in the bottle, giving you a softer feel for the flavor. 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 a great deal 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 variants also dealing with the taste of wine, they are not as present as those listed above. The above variants are the most present in wine, and also the variations you need to get more familiar with. Before you try to taste wine or distinguish variants, you should always learn as much as you can about the components responsible for the flavors. In this way - you want to know more about what you are tasting and and also be able to do appreciate wine.