[question] Question submitted by Ian Anson, Australia I note that liquid tannin is sometimes used in red wine production. Though I could accept this as potentially acceptable for home wine makers, I was surprised to see drums of liquid tannin being off-loaded at a very famous Victorian wine-maker during one visit. Your view is appreciated. Am I being too precious? [/question] [answer] Unless I’m mistaken, Penfolds, under the guidance of winemaking legend Max Schubert, was the first (and for a long time the only) red wine producer of any note in Australia to buy relatively large amounts of tannin for the addition to red wine. This was certainly the case from the 1960s until the early 1980s, when perhaps due to the thin and insipid nature of many Australian red wines (which were then largely cabernet sauvignon), the addition of tannin became more commonplace. When deployed intelligently, as Penfolds do through their decades of experience, the addition of tannin is a valuable tool in the winemaker’s kitbag. It might not help in the development of red wines intended to really reflect regionality and terroir, since it is clearly a significant addition, but in Penfolds’ case, most of their reds are multi-regional blends that attempt each year to conform to an expected and established style. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this, and cannot remember tasting too many Penfolds reds over which I was critical about the issue of tannin. Winemakers can now choose from a range of different tannins, most of which are sourced from grape skins and seeds, others from oak. Virtually all are sold in solid, powder form. If ‘tannin’ is sold as a liquid, it clearly is no longer straight tannin, and I’d be concerned as to what else was being added to the wine at the time. While it’s likely that sales to the wine industry of powdered tannin are presently at an all-time high, it’s not entirely fair to suggest that all wineries are keen to adopt it as part of their winemaking regime. More Australian winemakers than ever before are showing geniune concern over the overall physiological ripeness of fruit, in which fruit flavours, sugar levels, acidity and tannin ripeness all occur concurrently. That is of course an ideal, and will only really occur regularly in the best vineyard sites. However, through the adoption of this approach, or by something close to it, we have seen a broad improvement across the board in the quality of fruit coming from Australian vineyards. [/answer]
