Bitter Taste, Better Wine

As an amateur wine drinker, it is safe to say that I (along with most of my peers) am not accustomed to wine tasting. When our group traveled to Barone Ricasoli last Wednesday, I was curious to see the mechanics and techniques to taste wine and learn how to tell good wine from bad wine.
Out guide introduced us to the process of making wine, the concept of how wine ages, and how to tell if the wine is good through tasting. I was most intrigued when he mentioned the concept of tannins in the red wine that we drank. Tannins are polyphenols that can be very beneficial for humans because they are antioxidants that can help the vascular system. More specifically, tannins bind, shrink, and precipitate proteins. So, for example, the tannins can suppress the production of peptides that are responsible for hardening arteries. Tannins can also be separated in two groups: hydrolysable tannins and condensed tannins. Both types of tannins are present in red wine even though they are not extracted from the same sources. Condensed tannins are found in the actual grape (specifically the seed and the skin). Hydrolysable tannins are found in the oakwood that the wine is aged in. This is good because the consumer can get the benefit of both compounds.
Tannins are also astringents that can be responsible for the bitter and dry taste of the red wine. I noticed this when our guide told us to swish the wine in our mouths. I was immediately overcome with an unpleasant feeling in my mouth, but it was something that was also new and unique. Our guide further explained that the level of tannins was important to evaluate the wine. A low level of tannins might suggest a lower quality grape or a mediocre aging time. However, a wine high in tannins might be too bitter and might negatively affect the taste of the wine. Overall, I was able to learn the finer points of wine tasting and also wine chemistry during our trip to Barone Ricasoli. While I might not be able to have such great wine everyday, I am at least more confident that I can at least know what good wine tastes like.