Understanding Texture in Wine

Because I now write wine reviews, I need to go beyond describing the texture of wine as “smooth”. So I took a deeper dive into what texture in wine is really about.

First, the Basics

The vast majority of wine descriptions focus on aromas and flavours from primary fruit (grape variety), plus secondary and tertiary characteristics such as winemaking and ageing. 

Most wine reviews also relate acidity and/or tannin levels; some mention body, balance, complexity, and length of finish. 

Far fewer wine reviews spend time dealing with the texture of wine.

I think texture is important to the enjoyment of wine. It is about how the wine feels in your mouth, its weight, its viscosity, its density. Texture gives wine dimension and adds complexity. 

It was the velvety texture of a certain wine tasted long ago that captivated me and set me on this wine focused path.

Perhaps the easiest entry point to understanding the texture in wine is to start with food.

I think most people would agree that the texture of brie cheese is creamy while the texture of aged Parmigiano is crumbly. Carbonated drinks are fizzy while tap water is flat. Whole fat milk is full while skim milk is thin.

Sometimes textures are what people do or don’t like about foods. My hubby likes crunchy veggies in a stir-fry, while I dislike the spongy density of raw fish or sushi. Liver, anyone? Let’s not even go there.

Of course these likes and dislikes are subjective. However, they contribute to our individual sensory programming and impact our perception of texture, whether it be in food or wine.

What Contributes to Texture

From what I’ve read, texture is related to the balance of alcohol, sugar, tannins, acidity and phenolics of a wine – all of which contribute to its mouthfeel.

High alcohol wines (14.5%) tend to be perceived as fuller, heavier even oilier  (e.g., Monastrell/Mourvèdre) while low alcohol wines (11%) feel lighter, thinner (e.g., Vinho Verde). Alcohol affects the viscosity of a wine. Glycerol, another type of alcohol produced during primary fermentation (aside from ethanol) has an impact on mouthfeel and the perceived weight of the wine.

Sugar balances the acidity in wine; it is also what yeasts convert into alcohol. All wine will contain some left-over sugar after fermentation is completed (called residual sugar). Even bone dry wines may contain between 0.2-5 g/L of residual sugar. But wines that have higher left-over sugar such as off-dry, medium dry, medium sweet or sweet wines will have a more viscous texture. This is visible when swirling a glass of wine and the wine oozes down the interior of the glass in tears, legs, or sheets.

Tannins in red and orange wines are often credited as giving structure; but when it concerns texture, tannins contribute astringency which is felt as a prickly sensation in the mouth, often a furry coating of the tongue and the inside of cheeks.

There are several acids in wine that affect texture; the ones most often noted are malic acid and lactic acid (the latter, a result of malolactic conversion that often happens naturally post primary fermentation). Malic acid gives a sharp and crisp texture while lactic acid is round and creamy.

The phenolic content of wine refers to the phenolic compounds – natural phenol and polyphenols – which also include several hundred chemical compounds – that affect the taste, colour and mouthfeel of wine. It’s the most scientific and least understood topic in wine appreciation so I will be brief here … but if you feel so inclined and are a wine nerd, check out Dr. Jamie Goode’s post on phenolics. 

One of the phenol groups, Flavan-3-ols, seems to impart different sensory characteristics based on whether it’s found in the seeds of the grape or the skin of the grape. Coming from the former, catechin gallate is described as hard, coarse and drying on the palate while coming from the latter, gallocatechins are described as velvety and viscous. Wine made using whole bunch fermentation would have the effects of both types of Flavan-3-ols.

Winemaking and Vessels Affect Texture

What a winemaker does in shaping the profile of a wine often impacts texture. For example, the choice of fermentation vessels and their size and shape significantly influence the texture of wine. Winemakers can choose oak barrels or casks for fermentation and ageing (which softens tannins through slow micro-oxidation), stainless steel tanks with temperature control (for crisp acidity and freshness), clay amphora and concrete tanks or eggs (for depth and richness).

Other winemaking processes that affect a wine’s texture are: malolactic conversion (resulting in creamier, softer texture); ageing on lees (adding unctuousness, mouth volume) and lees stirring (adding richness); fining and filtering (to reduce astrigency and soften tannins, and to remove chewy solids/particles left over from the must, for example). In addition, high dry extract (another wine nerd topic) of certain grape varieties (augmented by winemaking practices such as the addition of enzymes) will affect texture in wine. The higher the dry extract, the fuller or heavier the wine (DE normal range is 15-30 g/L).

It’s Just a Metaphor

All descriptors for wine are metaphors. It’s a way to define aromas, flavours, quality of acidity and tannin, as well as texture in wine in an understandable and associative way.

One of the more unique ways of describing texture that I’ve come across is the association to fabric or textiles. Allison Slute, DipWSET, author of CabFranc Chronicles does this and I thought it was brilliant. She equates the mouthfeel of a wine with the likes of cashmere, linen, satin, or corduroy. That for me is a great way to “feel” the texture of the wine.

A Little Vocabulary for Texture in Wine

chewy	creamy	crisp	dense
fat	firm	flabby	fizzy
full	furry	grainy	gritty
heavy	oily	rich	silky
smooth	soft	thick	thin
velvety	viscous	waxy

Wine Examples

Here are two examples of wines with noticeable texture. Both are from Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery (Creek Shores sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula), made by winemaker Ron Giesbrecht.

This barrel fermented 2020 chardonnay from the estate vineyard is a great example of how texture is created by the deft hand of the winemaker. Ripe fruit from an exceptional vintage was fermented in French oak (small % new), with bâtonnage (stirring of the lees/dead yeasts cells and bits of grape solids) to extract aroma, flavour and texture. The wine also went through malolactic conversion which softened the acids, making it more buttery/creamy. The alcohol is 13.8% providing weight and fullness. Texture: It’s a full wine, satiny, viscous, with a generous mid palate.

Aromas & Flavours: yellow apple, tangerine, grilled pineapple, lemon custard and a hint of brioche, some mineral notes (crushed gravel) and wood spice. Refreshing acidity and a long finish.

The syrah fruit comes from the Wismer-Parke vineyard in Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation. It was left to hang late into the harvest season acquiring ripeness and phenolic development – both of which contribute to texture in this wine. Then during the winemaking process, it received extended skin contact (maceration) resulting in richness. Fermentation and ageing took place in French oak barriques (to soften the tannins). No fining and only a “5 micron” filter was used before bottling (to catch the bigger grape solids). It was bottled after 2 years on lees (adding opulence). The alcohol is high but well integrated (14.8%), adding to the viscocity and fullness of the wine. Texture: It’s a round, weighty wine, velour-like and grippy (due to tannic astringency) at the same time.

Aromas & Falvours: black cherry and cassis, dark chocolate, India ink, vanilla, and pepper spice. Lovely streak of acidity to keep the palate fresh. Tannic grip on the long finish.

Here is another recommendation from Peter Rod, Program Coordinator/Professor ~ Wine Programs at Niagara College, for a wine that provides a great example of texture: Katogi Averoff Inima 2018 ($20.25 LCBO), Xinomavro from Naoussa, Greece. Tasting notes from several sources depict the texture as …

• fine, sandy, drying tannins and juicy acids
• firm and sapid, very dry and dusty
• grippy & drying tannins that add weight & structure to palate

Well, there you have a summary of my deep dive into wine texture. Do you have any example of wines that speak of texture to your palate? If so, please share by leaving a comment.

Thank you for reading.

Cheers!

(Disclosure: Both Ron Giesbrecht and Peter Rod were my teachers at Niagara College; both inspirational and even now indispensable.)