Good Morning!

As I am learning about wine, I am trying to figure it what makes a wine good. I know I say drink what you enjoy and that is still true. But as I read to better understand what a “good” wine is to a judge, I am finding out the very first factor considered is the body of the wine. Body is all about texture. It is the tactile sensation of thickness sometimes referred to as “weight” or strength.

The best way to describe body is the “mouth-feel, thickness and viscosity” of the wine. This is all about texture and the weight of the wine when you are tasting. Body does not include the taste or smell of the wine, it is only interested in the feeling of the wine in your mouth. Easy way to describe the texture/viscosity is to think about milk, cream is heavier and thicker than skim milk, so cream has more body and texture.

There are two main sources of body in wine alcohol and sugar. Alcohol feels thicker in the mouth than water. If you took a sip of water it would feel light and if you took a sip of vodka it would feel rich. The higher the alcohol in a wine the more full bodied the wine will feel to you. Though residual sugar can affect the overall body in the wine, if you think about dessert wines, they feel thicker kinda like maple syrup, so that would feel full bodied in your mouth.

What creates body? I have read many articles and books and after breaking it all down it is all about Sunshine and Ripeness, so that means the climate of the vineyard. The sweetest grapes make the most full bodied wines. And the warmest and sunniest wine regions are those that grow the ripest, sweetest fruit. With that said the wines from cooler, cloudier regions, like France and Germany, will always be more light-bodied.

Many factors lead to creating a great wine, body is one of them. But many wines have different styles that are not as full bodied and they are terrific. Think about basketball players, all sizes and shapes but with very unique results..like would you rather have Dirk or Kobe, or Shaq or Carmelo, all are great but all are completely different.

Well, that is what I have learned about body….I hope you found some interesting facts here and will think about it tonight when you are relaxing and open a bottle.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi