From Fear to Confidence Unlock the Power of Tannins in Wine

Ever feel overwhelmed when handed the wine list at a business dinner, worried about making the wrong choice—especially when it comes to tannin in wine? This episode of Everyday Sommelier with Kristi Mayfield dives deep into what tannins really are, why they’re not the enemy of great wine, and how understanding them can become your superpower at any table. Kristi shatters the myth that high-tannin wines are best avoided and empowers you to explore your personal tannin taste spectrum with actionable strategies.

You’ll learn how tannins work, why they matter for both red and certain white wines, how to read any wine list for tannin clues, and why traditional pairings like steak and Cabernet Sauvignon are backed by science—not just snobbery. Plus, Kristi reveals a simple three-glass test you can try at home to pinpoint your own tannin preference—no memorizing grape varieties required.

Walk away with practical tools to decode wine lists, make memorable, confident wine selections, and unlock a new level of enjoyment and expertise, whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast or just want to impress at your next business dinner.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER:

• How tannins in wine actually work and why they’re essential—not something to fear
• Tips to decode wine lists using grape, region, and vintage for tannin levels
• The three-glass tannin test to find your personal tannin sweet spot
• Why food and wine pairing with tannins is more than tradition—it's science-backed

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 – When Tannin Feels Like a Trap: Turning Wine List Anxiety Into Mastery
04:05 – Unlocking the Mystery: What Tannins in Wine Really Are—And Why They Matter
06:35 – How to Decode Tannin Clues: Grape, Region, and Age Secrets for Every Wine List
08:45 – The Science Behind Perfect Wine Pairings: Tannins, Fat, and Flavor
12:41 – The Three-Glass Tannin Test: Find Your Personal Wine Preference at Home
14:48 – Busting the Tannin Headache Myth: The Truth About Health and Enjoyment

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Transcript

Kristi Mayfield (00:00)
You know the feeling. You are at a client dinner at a lovely high end steakhouse. The sommelier hands you the wine list and it feels more like a leather bound encyclopedia than any kind of menu. And your client looks at you knowingly, you know wine? Why don't you pick for the table? All of a sudden your mind flashes back to a big bold cabernet that you had last month that left you feeling like you had been licking sandpaper.

you start to second guess yourself. You've fallen into the tannin trap. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make thinking about tannins as a problem to be avoided. We say, I don't like tannic wines. And we shrink our world down to low tannin wines like Pinot Noir. This creates a sense of insecurity, uncertainty, and takes away every bit of our adventurousness.

especially in professional settings where confidence is our primary currency. Well today we are flipping the script. We're going to stop avoiding tannins and you can start using them as your superpower. Today I'll show you how to read a wine list for tannin clues and find your personal tannin sweet spot. To use that knowledge to order

with command, pair with precision, and turn that simple bottle of wine into a memorable experience. This isn't just about wine, it's about mastering another tool in your wine toolkit.

Early along in my wine journey, I totally fell victim to the tannin trap myself. I was hosting a dinner in Chicago at a lovely Italian restaurant. When it was time to select the wine, I knew better than to guess. So I simply asked the sommelier to make a selection for me in a cool, calm, and collected way. The next thing you know, the bottle was presented. I nod, not really knowing what I was doing, and a small amount was poured into my glass.

I was totally shocked and thought I had made the biggest mistake of my client entertainment career when I saw how pale the wine was, not the deep luxurious red that I was looking for. It looked more like a watered down Kool-Aid. My first thought was, ⁓ no, what have I done? I tried to keep my composure. I picked up that glass and sniffed, swirled and sipped like I knew what I was doing. And all of a sudden my mind was blown.

That pale, Kool-Aid looking wine I thought was going to taste more like fruity grape juice was grippy buds like a freight train. Light in color but mega high in tannin. I had never experienced anything like it and I became an immediate fan. Tannins. I couldn't see them but I could absolutely feel them.

So what are they and how can you leverage them to take your wine journey next level? As with many things related to wine, there's not one single answer. There are always going to be exceptions, but today I'm going to arm you with everything you need to know about tannins and how to figure out where you fall on the tannin spectrum. So let's get started with what are tannins and where do they come from? Technically speaking,

Tannins are naturally occurring phenolic compounds that can be found in many plants, including the skins of grapes, the seeds, the stems. And what they do is contribute to a wine's bitterness astringency and overall complexity when used in the right way. the structure and ageability of red wine.

they also provide that drying sensation in your mouth. Different grapes have different natural levels of tannins. However, in addition to that, winemakers can also leverage things like oak barrels to contribute tannins in their own way, And over time, the longer a wine is aged in an oak barrel, can

soften the wine's tannins because all of the tannin chains start to polymerize or simply attach to one another. But regardless of the source from the grape or the oak barrel, a winemaker's goal is to manage those tannins in a pleasant ripe texture, not a green, bitter, or astringent one. So let's

redefine tannin beyond just that drying bitterness. The tannin spectrum is not singular. It's actually a ladder. Think of it like a ladder. And we can move beyond low tannin and high tannin and introduce different words that are way more descriptive. Are the tannins silky or velvety? So do they feel more like a ⁓

Are they structured like a

or smooth and silky like that of a Merlot. Moving on to grippy or firm tannins. These are ones you are definitely going to notice. They're highly structured, but yet pleasant. So they make the wine seem very balanced. You get fruit, you get tannins, you get acid, you get alcohol, and none of them compete with one another. They're all playing nicely on the same team. And then there are the green or astringent tannins.

These are ones that aren't yet ripe. They can be harsh. They can make your mouth pucker. And it's a sign of a wine where the grapes were simply picked too young. Or that wine needs a few more years on it for those tannins to integrate and move into silky and velvety or grippy and firm. But how does this translate to you being able to command the table at a business dinner?

How can we demystify this whole perspective that certain foods and wines pair together, like the traditional steak and Cabernet Sauvignon? can you

a wine list for the clues we just talked about First think of the grape. Now, I'm not going to ask you to memorize all thousand grapes that can be used for wine, but there are obvious clues. There are highly tannic varietals of red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebiolo,

and Tannat and Mourvedre So if you don't know the varietal, let's secondly look at the region. Warmer wine growing regions will often translate to riper, softer tannins. For example, a California or Australian Cabernet Sauvignon is going to have riper, softer tannins than a cooler climate CabernetSauvignon such as those grown in Bordeaux.

the longer wine is either in the barrel or even in the bottle will soften those tannins. So a wine from twothousandfifteen will taste much smoother than one from 2022. But that power pairing principle, let's tackle that. It's not just steak and cab. It's

Science. It goes beyond tannins with fatty steaks. So what is happening to make those types of food and wine pairings so magical? fat in that steak or another fatty food and protein molecules in meats and other high protein foods bind to tannins in your wine and it makes them feel smoother.

and more favorable Here's a great way of thinking about it. A pearl starts off as a tiny grain of sand that embeds itself into an oyster. And over time, that oyster coats it with this beautiful, luxurious, iridescent coating that ultimately becomes a pearl. The fat and protein molecules do the exact same thing to smooth out those tannins. Now, this knowledge lets you explain

very confidently why you would suggest a high tannin wine like a Cabernet or a Tanat with something rich and fatty with high protein like a steak the next time you do choose to keep with those food and wine pairings.

So stay firm in your decision and take those three elements grape region and age as your wine list cues. are there other wines that have tannins outside of reds? Absolutely. Let's start off with orange wines. orange wines aren't made from orange grapes or oranges themselves. These white wines

made in the same way as a red wine, where the skins are left in contact with all of that juice while it's fermenting. And that extraction turns the wines an orangey color. White grapes have tannins in their skins just like red wine grapes. But we don't get them in a traditional white wine because we remove the juice from the skins before the wine is fermented.

However, white wines that are aged or fermented in oak barrels can extract the same type of tannins we just talked about in red wines. So high quality barrel fermented Chardonnays or Viognes can have that lovely tannic structure from the wood, not the grape skins. And rosé, rosé, rosé. There is a method of making rosé called saignee

the winemaker is using red grapes And before the rosé is pressed off of the skins, it's already extracted some color, but fermentation has started. And that fermentation is extracting some of those tannins from the skin before it's being pressed off and becomes beautiful, lovely rosé color.

delicious wine, with some tannic structure on the back end. let's move outside of the world of wine. What other foods contain tannins?

dark chocolate, especially 85 % cacao or higher. Many of your teas like oolong tea, high levels of tannins. And if you're a brown water fan, barrel aged whiskies and bourbons and scotches all have a high level of tannin. Tannin is a key component of many complex flavors

many complex structures, not just wine. But many of you may think you need to avoid tannins all together because you associate tannins with wine headaches. let's debunk this myth. While there actually are a small number of people who are sensitive to tannins, science

directs us to the high alcohol content and a lot of those high tannin wines as the real culprit of headaches and puts tannins in the free and clear. Tannins are polyphenols, They are powerful antioxidants which have been studied for their health benefits.

for decades. there is a tremendous amount of talk about alcohol at any level being bad for you, but decades of research continues to promote the glass of red wine a day as a high antioxidant and good for your health. I am not here to debunk it either one of those perspectives. would instead encourage you to do the research and decide for yourself, but framing

red wine and the tannins that are antioxidants as a potential benefit in moderation can change your whole perspective on tannins and red do you take all of this information and explore where your preference is on the tannin spectrum? Are you a fan of those green or grippy tannins?

Or are you a smooth operator seeking those velvety smooth tannins? let's find out. I am giving you a challenge for the week to test and find your own tannin tolerance on that spectrum to see where your own palate lands. This is super fun. And you likely may be surprised that you enjoy an even more structured or high tannic experience in your wines.

than you previously thought. So here is your test. You need three glasses. In the first glass, home brew a cold brewed strong black tea. This is a very pure tannin reference at a high level without a lot of other flavors distracting you from the feeling of the tannins. Secondly, pour a glass of a soft low tannin Pinot Noir.

And third, grab a glass of young, affordable Cabernet Sauvignon that's going to have that really high and firm tannin. Taste the three of them side by side. Take notes. How did it make your tongue feel? How did it make your gums feel? Did you salivate? Did you feel like you needed to drink a gallon of water? Take notes and identify.

in rank order which of those three levels you preferred the most because this will help you calibrate your palette and understand where your preferences truly lie. So it empowers you to now order like a pro at your wine shop or any restaurant off any wine list menu. now that you're equipped with the test and you've done the test the next time you're handed that wine list, don't look at it.

as yet another test. See it as an opportunity because you're now equipped to move beyond the high-low basics of tannins and define your preferences to decode that wine list and menu and make a choice that's not just on the safe side, but it's strategic and it will impress. Are you curious enough to try the three glass test?

If so, I'd love to hear about your experience and where you thought you'd fall on the spectrum is where you did fall after the test. So share your results on my Instagram page at Kristi K-R-I-S-T-I, Everyday Sommelier. And better yet, do the test with a friend and see how different each of you reacts. Wine is always best shared. So this wine test will be even more fun when you do it with a friend.

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others can find Everyday Sommelier and enjoy the podcast just like you. Now in the next episode I'm going to be breaking down wine storage at home and otherwise to help you keep your favorite wines fresh and protected whether you plan to pop the cork tomorrow or a decade from now.

Until then, grab your favorite glass of wine and learn wine your way.