LOW TANNIN WINES.
A friend told me that he loved red wine but can’t handle BIG tannins, “are there any low tannin reds out there?” The answer’s a BIG yes!
Tannin’s the stuff that dries and puckers your mouth; it comes from the skins of red grapes so knowing low tannin grapes is the key to low tannin wines.
The low tannin grapes include Pinot Noir, Gamay, Barbera, Dolcetto, Frappato and Bobal – happily, to make life easier at the dreaded supermarket ‘wall of wine’, the grape variety is generally on the front label.
With its silky tannins, Pinot Noir is grown across the world’s vineyard regions including France’s illustrious Burgundy region, Chile, Argentina, Australia, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand and California. Like all the low tannin wines, these wines do have tannin but it’s far softer than say Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo and Syrah.
Gamay’s home is Beaujolais in southern Burgundy, a region that’s been through some tough times but is now attracting big investment, resulting in some excellent wines with happy price tags across the range from ‘straight’ Beaujolais, through Beaujolais- Villages to the Top Johnny crus such as Morgon.
Barbera hails from the Piemonte region in north-west Italy, around the two medieval towns of Asti and Alba – you’ll see this on the label as Barbera d’Asti and Barbera d’Alba.
Staying in Piemonte, Dolcetto is also celebrated around the must-visit town of Alba; you’ll see this on the label as Dolcetto d’Alba, that is, Dolcetto from Alba. Simple.
The magical island of Sicily is home to Frappato, well-priced wines that are well a try as is our final low tannin grape, Bobal, the little-known variety from the sun-baked vineyards of Utiel-Requena near the beautiful Spanish city of Valencia.
So, yes, you can enjoy red wine even if you can’t handle big tannins. Oh, and don’t be afraid to ask the wine waiter about their low tannin wines, they’ll also enjoy the journey.
