Astringency in wine is a term and sensation most commonly associated and experienced while drinking red wine. I want to emphasize “sensation” as it is very commonly confused with acidity in wine – which is related to taste.
Astringency is the physiological reaction your mouth experiences when it comes into contact with wine. It causes our taste buds to stand on end while a coarseness or roughness ensues. This makes your mouth pucker and very often begin to salivate further. Conversely, it can cause your mouth to dry out.
This sensation is caused by a chemical compound that makes body tissue and blood vessels contract. The compound is derived primarily from the skins and seeds of the grapes used to make whichever wine you’re drinking. These chemical compounds are classified as “phenolics.“
There are a number of phenolics present in wine at varying concentrations. Each can affect the color, aroma and feel of a wine, but there are a select few that relate to astringency in wine.
Polymeric flavan-3-ols – as the compound is scientifically called – is the biggest contributor to the level of astringency felt in a wine. Polymeric flavan-3-ols is the same compound that is more commonly referred to as “tannins” found in wine.
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There are a number of chemical reactions that occur in your mouth as you taste wine. As the tannins interact with proteins present in your saliva – which lubricate your mouth – they essentially bond. This causes your tissues to contract which will ultimately lead to further salivation.
Red wine is truly a wonderful beverage in that these reactions all vary in intensity depending upon how the wine was crafted. The subtleties from bottle to bottle vary greatly, and many wine aficionados are constantly looking for new descriptive terms to describe the variations.
All in all, think of astringency as being related to your sense of touch, while acidity is associated with the sense of taste. Both are used to assess the flavoric nuances of a wine at varying degrees of intensity.
Is there any way to control astringency in wine making?
There are a variety of ways, one option is to use a fining agent, essentially adding protein to the wine. A chemical reaction takes place not unlike the one that occurs with your saliva during protein-based food and wine pairings. A simpler way is if a variety is known to be astringent, it’s simply better to minimize tannins during time in the extraction process. You can also leverage blending with less astringent wines.