The Encyclopedia of Wine for Beginners

Chapter 2 Does Wine Taste Sour?
Text/Wang Xin, Zhiwei Wine Magazine
Acidity is indeed very important for wine, but it is not equated with wine "tasting sour", let alone the reason why some wines taste "sour and astringent".

Vinegar was called "bitter wine" in ancient China.Since it is brewed bad, but not vinegar but called wine, it is probably because wine is not one of the seven things to open the door, and vinegar is called "bitter wine" but it is elegant.However, referring to vinegar as wine, it may not be elegant, but it shows the sourness of literati.

Even though wine is an exotic product, its sourness is sometimes no weaker than that of Chinese vinegar.Someone once asked me why he drank a lot of wine on social occasions, but he still couldn't get used to the sour and astringent taste.I asked him why he still wanted to drink a wine that was "sour and astringent". The answer was that the wine seller told him, "Red wine is like this, you have to learn to appreciate it." I am afraid that he is the only person worthy of appreciation here. The tenacity of it.Search the Internet, and there are many articles telling you that there are malic acid, tartaric acid, and other acids in wine. It is inevitable that it will taste sour.Others said the wine was too sour to drink without Sprite.Is it the fool who wrote the article, or the person who exchanged the Sprite has no taste?

The answer is: both are right!A good wine can have decent acidity, but it shouldn't taste too sour without adding anything.Just like fresh bayberry, it tastes full of sweetness and fruitiness, not only does it not look sour, but it also stimulates the tongue.Only when you wipe out a catty by yourself and your teeth are sour, you will know that although it is sweet, it is actually very sour.

The same is true for wine. Everyone knows that ice wine is known as one of the sweetest wines, but it is also one of the most sour wines. Only with such a balance of sweet and sour can ice wine taste neither vinegar nor sweet but not greasy.Not only sweet wine, but all wines want to taste good. One of the basic prerequisites is "balance". Different flavors affect each other, just like the "five flavors" that is particular about cooking.The aroma and fruitiness of the wine should be so strong that you don't feel sour, and the acidity of the wine should be so refreshing that you don't feel cloying.This wine doesn't feel sour when you drink it, but it makes your mouth water.As for people who drink with Sprite, sometimes it is because the wine they drink has a weak aroma, leaving only sour taste. "way of doing.As for those who say that wine should be "sour and astringent", most likely they are trying to sell some bad wines that are not worth drinking, or even bad wines.

It is because the dry wine itself relies on the aroma and fruit flavor to balance the acidity. If you eat some sweet fruits or sweets while drinking the wine, then the wine will feel out of flavor and unbearably sour.Therefore, when tasting dry wine, you should avoid all kinds of fruit sweets. Even if you drink sweet wine, you should also pay attention to the sweet food that goes with the wine, which cannot be sweeter than the wine.

If a bottle of wine tastes only unacceptably sour, the wine may:

1. The temperature is too low, and other aromas cannot be released - usually only the wine that has just been chilled, just wait for the temperature to rise.

2. This wine is too young to drink now - usually only the expensive new vintage liqueur or champagne will be unacceptably sour when young, and the ordinary wine that is drunk every day does not have this problem no matter how young it is.

3. Oxidation due to improper storage conditions, usually because the wine has been placed vertically for too long, and the cork shrinks as it dries, causing too much oxygen to enter.

4. This bottle of wine itself is relatively boring and simple, and it is a cheap table wine.

(End of this chapter)