![]() Zinfandel (pronounced zin-fan-del), originally a red Italian grape that’s now closely associated with California wine, embodies the spirit of good strong red wines. So, if you’re looking for a strong red wine with high tannins, seek out high tannin grapes. Some grapes, including those listed below, have naturally high tannins regardless of the winemaking technique. Winemakers can paly with winemaking techniques to extract more or less tannin from their grapes depending on the wine style they hope to achieve. Grapes with thin skins make lower tannin wines (e.g., Pinot Noir). Grapes with very small berries and thick skins, naturally make wines with more tannin. Wine tannin comes from the grape’s seeds, stems, and skins. Helpful Tip: Check out this super-quick post on how to taste red wine tannins if you want to learn more about tannins in wine. Many people equate strong red wines with high tannin red wines. Tannin is that grippy, sandpaper sensation in your mouth you taste in red wines. Alternatively, you may be looking for a high tannin wine. Takeaway: If you’re looking for strong red wines with high alcohol, look for bottles from hot growing climates. Compare the following:Ī 2019 Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine) - 13.5% ABVĪ 2019 Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon - 14.7% ABVīordeaux enjoys a naturally cooler climate than Paso, so you expect the wines from Bordeaux to have lower alcohol in comparison to their California counterparts. ![]() Lesson: Grapes from warmer, sunnier vineyard sites will have more natural sugar and therefore more alcohol. The summer tomato has more natural sugar than the winter tomato. Imagine the difference between a barely ripe tomato you buy from the store in the middle of winter, and a perfectly succulent, juicy heirloom tomato you get at the peak of summer. Some grapes will have more than others thanks to warmer, sunnier growing conditions. How does this work? All grapes (and other fruits) have sugar. A logical extension is that grapes with more sugar will have higher levels of alcohol because there’s more sugar available for the yeast to chow down on. Yeast consume the natural sugar in grape juice and convert the sugar into ethanol. Low alcohol wines are those wines under 11% ABV.Īlcohol is one of the byproducts of fermentation. Medium alcohol wines fall between 11%-13.9%. High alcohol wines: In regular table wines (the kind you drink every day with dinner), high alcohol wines have alcohol levels above 14% ABV. Here’s the difference between these two qualities. When friends ask me to recommend a strong red wine, they usually want a wine with 1 of 2 qualities (sometimes both combined): 1) high alcohol red wines, or 2) high tannin red wines. Before you start shopping for that strong bottle of brew, it helps to clarify exactly what quality you’re looking for in a strong red wine.
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