Wine tannins are natural plant compounds called polyphenols that contribute a drying or gripping sensation in the mouth. They come from grape skins, seeds, stems and sometimes oak. Tannin grip differs from low sugar and acidity: a dry wine can have little noticeable tannin.
Perhaps you liked a wine's flavor but not the way it left your mouth feeling. Finding the word for that sensation is more useful than deciding you dislike every wine of the same color.
Tannin can create a drying, gripping feeling. Notice that separately from sweetness and from the fresh, mouth-watering impression of acidity.
Where do tannins come from?
Grape skins, seeds and stems supply tannins, and oak used in production can contribute them too. The way grapes are handled and the wine is made affects the finished texture.
WSET describes tannins as particularly noticeable in red wines, while also present in some skin-contact whites. Color alone is not an exact measure of how much tannin a bottle contains.
Tannins interact with proteins in saliva, reducing lubrication and increasing friction. That is why the sensation is often called astringency. A cup of over-steeped black tea gives a familiar example of drying grip without needing a wine vocabulary test.
Dry and drying mean different things
Dry can describe low sweetness. Drying describes a physical sensation. Acidity is another dimension again, associated with freshness and mouth-watering.
Keeping those ideas separate helps you explain what you like. Saying a wine is too dry may mean you want more sweetness, or it may mean you dislike its grip. The next bottle will be easier to choose if you know which.
Does Prosecco have tannins?
White Prosecco is generally low in tannin, rather than a wine chosen for a red wine’s firm grip. Prosecco DOC white winemaking separates the juice from the skins before fermentation. Skin contact and production choices matter, so low tannin should not be read as a laboratory guarantee of zero tannin.
Bella Principessa's white Brut and rosé Brut sweetness terms do not provide tannin measurements. WSET also distinguishes the mouth-watering sensation of acidity and the prickle of carbonation from tannin’s drying grip.
For what time can change in a wine, see wine ageing. Wine fermentation explains a different part of the winemaking process.
Sources
WSET: what is wine?; WSET: mouthfeel; UC Davis Waterhouse Lab: tannin; Prosecco DOC winemaking.
