What are tannins in wine?
Tannins are natural compounds from grape skins, seeds and stems (and oak barrels) that make red wine feel drying and grippy in your mouth, like a strong cup of black tea.
If a red wine leaves your gums feeling fuzzy and your mouth a little parched, that's tannin. It isn't a flavor so much as a feeling, and it's the main reason some people love big reds and others avoid them.
- Feels like
- Drying and grippy, like strong black tea
- Comes from
- Grape skins, seeds, stems and oak barrels
- High tannin
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Nebbiolo
- Low tannin
- Pinot Noir, Gamay, most whites and rosé
Why red wine has more
Red wine soaks with the grape skins for days or weeks to pick up color, and tannin comes along with it. White wine is usually pressed off the skins right away, so it has very little.
Thick-skinned grapes give more tannin. That is why a Petite Sirah feels so much sturdier than a Pinot Noir, which comes from a thin-skinned grape.
How to make tannin your friend
Fat and protein soften tannin, which is why a grippy Cabernet tastes harsh on its own and smooth next to a steak or a burger. Cheese works the same way.
If you find most reds too drying, start with Pinot Noir, Beaujolais or a red blend and work up from there. You might also like a red served a little cool rather than warm.
Taste the difference
Bogle Petite Sirah
about $12Petite SirahDrink this one
High tannin, dark and inky. Take a sip and notice how your mouth feels afterward.
Meiomi Pinot Noir
about $22Pinot NoirGood buy
Low tannin and very smooth. Taste it next to the Petite Sirah and the difference is obvious.
Keep reading
- What does dry wine mean?
- What is Cabernet Sauvignon?
- What is Petite Sirah?
- What is a light red wine?
- Pinot Noir vs Cabernet Sauvignon: what's the difference?
- What wine goes with steak?
Last checked 2026-10-18.