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Everett Bandman

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Everything posted by Everett Bandman

  1. No I am not, but I'll go across the street and see what I can find. I am a Food Science Professor here at Davis, BTW and the academic tasting group I mentioned consists mostly of UCD people.
  2. I am not sure of your distinction between astringent and drying, as they are the same to me. Mechanistically, tannins bind the proline rich protein in your saliva and denature it which results in its precipitation in your mouth and binding to the epithelial membranes which produces the "rough" and drying feeling in your mouth. If you're not too grossed out, examination of the expectorate in your spit bucket will illustrate the precipiated protein. Acid solutions can also precipitate saliva proteins and I believe that is responsible for the "perceived astringency" of very acidic wines. Of course there are also acid detectors on your tongue which most of us interpret as sourness. The mouthwatering effect you mention to me also enhances fruitiness in wines and some describe it as "high toned" or spicy flavors in wine. At higher acid levels is when that "biting" sensation begins for me. Some in our group describe it as clipping (or shutting down) the flavors in the finish. Interestingly some wines that I love, often have a very short finish to this individual due to this clipping acidity as he describes it. If you want to begin exploring these phenomena, take a wine that is not too high in TA, and add tartaric acid to increase the TA by .05 gm/100 ml. It is very interesting to see how it affects ones perception of flavor, aromas, and color in the wine.
  3. Craig, Tannins are also bitter as well as astringent. Thus we can "taste" tannin, though bitterness perception is quite variable among tasters. I have been participating in a academic wine discussion group with other scientists where we have been doing a number of experiments with acid perception. One of the surprising discoveries for me was that acid solutions at concentrations found in some wines can be astringent, similar to tannin perception. My perception of the 88 burgundies I have in my cellar, (Chevillon, Maum, Boillot, Rossignol) has been that most are very astringent and unevolved still. I had assumed that the astringency was due to high tannin levels, but now, in light of Claude's and others comments here, I will revisit the wines and see if its high acidity. My personal palate preferences are for higher acidity in wines, though if the wine becomes "astringent" due to the acidity, I would continue aging it hoping it would "mellow" in the cellar. BTW, thanks for the link to this board. How long has it been around?
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