Do you know the five key structural elements of wine? A wine’s flavor profile is characterized by five structural elements – sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, and body. It’s one thing to describe the body of a wine (how it feels in the mouth, like the difference between skim milk and heavy cream, for example), or how the acidity might make your mouth water. But it’s the relationships between these elements that together make up a wine’s structure. Let’s take a look at each of the structural components individually. 

Sweetness
You can’t smell sweetness; you can only taste it. The word "sweetness" can be confusing because it suggests taste, and some wine that smell sweet may not actually taste sweet. You can smell ripeness in the aroma, which may indicate you will taste sweetness. A wine will taste sweet based on the amount of residual sugar within the wine and the sweetness is sensed near the front of the mouth or the tip of the tongue. 

Here are some sweetness descriptive terms that you can use: bone dry, dry, off dry, sweet, and very sweet. 

Tannin
Tannins are a natural substance that come from the skins and seeds of grapes as well as the aging barrels. How fascinating! They are found in red wines as these wines ferment with the skins. The level of tannins in a wine is measured not by how it tastes, but by how dry the wine makes your tongue feel. But unlike the dryness you find when tasting wine for sweetness, tannins literally feel dry on your tongue.

Tanin levels can be described using these terms:  low, medium-low, medium, medium-high, and high.

Acidity
Have you ever tried a wine that tasted a bit sour or tart? Acids within the wine is what causes that! Acid levels are typically higher in grapes grown in cooler climates. The acidity within the wine may cause a tingling sensation on your tongue or your mouth to water. 

The acidity of wine can be described using terms: low, medium-low, medium, medium-high, and high.

Alcohol
The alcohol level in a wine is detected by smell and taste. Alcohol is produced by the fermentation process when the yeast eats the grape’s natural sugars. You can detect alcohol content in your wine glass by the legs that you may see slowly running down the sides of the glass after you swirl it. However, those legs you see may also be caused by the sugar! 

Alcohol tasting is also described similarly to tannins and acidity: low (7-11%), medium (11-15%), and high (15% and up).

Body
Body describes the overall weight of the wine and its style — light to bold. A number of factors contribute to the body of a wine, including alcohol content, maturation method, tannins, sugar and acids. Some grape varieties also tend to just produce wines with more body.

Body is generally described using these terms: light, medium, full, lean, and round or creamy. 

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Be sure to come to one of our tasting rooms to learn more and the structural profiles of our wines. There is a lot to explore, and we have expert staff members ready to discuss!