Oh, that wine has a good Body! …There something about ‘The Body’ in that wine… What in the world are they talking ??? Let’s talk about the very basic stuff.

Wine has a Body?

Yes!!!

The Body: Is the real impression of “weight” of a wine in your mouth, That’s generally attributable essentially to a wine’s alcohol. You can classify a wine as light-bodied, medium-bodied, or full-bodied. But really, a wine’s body describes the “weight” and texture of a wine in your mouth — how a wine feels around your tongue. It’s called a “mouthfeel”.

Wines don’t really have different physical weights and aren’t really thicker or thinner than each other, so the sensation we describe as body is a subjective impression. This “mouthfeel” of a wine is produced not by it’s mass or viscosity, but rather by it’s alcohol content, extracts, glycerol, and acidity.


…and another important term to mention and it is the balance there is between alcohol on the one hand, and acidity and astringency on the other. This is obviously most relevant to red wines. But it’s there in some interesting whites. It’s another sensation that you feel in the mouth.

That’s when more descriptors start to conjure…But that’s another world altogether.


So, let’s say generally, too little alcohol will cause acidity and astringency to dominate, making the wine harsh and thin. Too little acid and astringency will cause a wine to taste overly soft, heavy and flabby, with the spirity quality of the alcohol playing too much of a role.
•a wine tolerates acidity better when its alcohol content is higher
•a considerable amount of tannin is more acceptable if acidity is low and alcohol is high

Well there you go and that’s a start!