Are there Tannins in White Wine?
Wine drinkers around the world, and those who choose not to drink wine, usually have very specific reasons for loving, or avoiding, wine. Lately, much talk has centered around tannins and sulfites and how people react to them. Or how they think they react.
Hence the common question “are there tannins in white wine?” This question usually arises for one of two reasons – either you think you have a sensitivity to tannins, or you do not like extra bitter foods and drinks.
First, it is important to differentiate tannins from sulfites and sulfates, as the two frequently get mixed.
Suffice to say that sulfites and sulfates are both produced by yeast during fermentation and are often also added for preservative effect by wine makers. A very small percentage of the population has a legitimate allergy to sulfites, which can cause nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. Those people should avoid wine altogether as sulfites and sulfates are naturally occurring in all wines.
For those who believe they simply have a sensitivity to sulfites, or tannins, science so far has not supported this suspicion. Let’s talk about why.
What Are Tannins?
Tannins are polyphenols found in many plants. In grapes, they are found in the skins, stems, and leaves of the plant. Polyphenols are highly beneficial to human health as they are a form of antioxidant, which clears free radicals, or toxins, from the body.
Interestingly, you can usually find more tannins in wines with fewer sulfites and more sulfites in wines with fewer tannins. This is likely because sulfites are killed off in wines with high levels of tannins. They are, in essence, competing antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.
Thus, we find higher levels of tannins in red wines where the wines are allowed to sit with stems, seeds, leaves, and skins for much longer.
In white wines, you will typically find fewer tannins as most white wine makers will only briefly allow contact with the skin.
However, it is important to note that some white wine makers are now soaking their white wines in skins, stems, and seeds to add more complexity to the drink, as this is actually the purpose of tannins in wine.
More on that later.
Why Would Some People Want to Avoid Tannins?
Now, quite often, we hear about people hoping to avoid tannins in wine, and this is typically because they think they are sensitive to the tannins in wine for the same reason that some people, and often the same people, think they are sensitive to sulfites.
There is a narrative circulating that tannins or sulfites might be the cause of feeling hungover, having a headache, or feeling rundown.
There have been several studies on this subject as a result of the complaints, and as of now it looks like people who get headaches from drinking wine are usually getting headaches from the alcohol.
It is possible that headaches are caused by other additives in wines that are not organic or all natural, particularly if the grapes are conventionally grown. Synthetic pesticides can cause all kinds of unhealthy side effects, so it is important to be mindful of whether your wine is grown with organic grapes.
There has been some research that shows that because tannins spur the release of serotonin, if you drink a lot of red wine in one sitting, you could be getting a headache from high doses of serotonin in your brain.
But that would also be true of any large doses of serotonin, which can also come from exercise, strength training, bright light, extra sleep, and changes in diet.
Again, it might just be the alcohol, or the specific chemicals on the grapes in your wine.
Another reason people wonder about the tannins in wine is the bitterness factor, which is their actual purpose in wine.
What Do Tannins Do in Wine?
The reason wine makers love tannins in wine is that tannins are largely responsible for the complexity of flavor and texture in wine. They give wine “mouth feel.”
When your mouth feels a bit dry after drinking wine, that’s from the tannins.
You will also find this in foods like cereal, peas, leafy greens like spinach, coffee, nuts, and cacao.
Tannins are really good for your health, and some people love dark red wines and dark chocolate specifically because of that bitterness and astringency.
Others, not so much.
Usually, tannins just take some getting used to.
You can certainly start with white wines and make your way through darker wines with more tannins as you adjust your palate.
Which Wines Have More Tannins?
To be clear, all wines will have some tannins because tannins are present in the skins of the grapes, as well as the seeds and the stems. All grapes when crushed will expose the juice to those elements of the grapes even if it is for a very short time.
Typically, white wines are exposed to those tannins for a shorter period of time and red wines for much longer.
In general, the must of red wine sits in the skin, stems, and seeds even during fermentation and often until first racking, whereas white wine must is immediately filtered.
Again, this is all in general because wine makers today are experimenting more with different approaches, and several white wine makers are allowing their white grapes to sit in their skins, stems, and seeds for much longer to introduce more complexity.
Are There Tannins in White Wine?
The answer then, is yes, there are always going to be some tannins even in white wine. They are unavoidable, so if you are adamantly against tannins, you should not be drinking wine.
But, if you are a wine maker and simply looking for ways to lower or increase tannins, know that it all comes down to how long you allow your wine must to soak in the skins, stems, and seeds of your grapes.
Cheers!
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