WHAT IS BODY IN WINE?

A wine of exceptional body, Amarone Velluto Riserva Meroni 1990 - sadly no longer with us......

Many of our customers come into the shop asking for a full bodied red, smooth, fruity etc.  The concept of body can be a bit confusing and mean different things to different consumers, so what actually is body in wine?
Body can refer to viscosity, weight and mouthfeel.  To put it simply body is how 'not' like water a wine is.  Think of a light bodied wine as being like semi-skimmed milk, a medium wine, like full fat milk and a full bodied wine as being like cream.   That is putting it simplistically but it gives you a good idea of how to understand the term. 

So what actually determines the amount of body?   There are several factors including sugar level,  - more sugar, more perceived body, - the acidity, the alcohol level, the tannin, and the dry-extract which is what would be left if all the water in the wine were evaporated.  There are also lesser known compounds like glycerin, (or glycerol) which is a natural, colorless, odorless byproduct of yeast fermentation.  It adds viscosity, a smooth, velvety mouthfeel, and possibly sweetness to the wine.  Other processes like oak ageing, can add body to wine, and there are many vineyard and winery tricks which can be used to give the wine extra body.  The best example of this is probably reverse-osmosis, which is a high-pressure membrane filtration technique which effectively sucks water out and concentrates the wine.

Then of course, there are a huge array of natural influences which help determine the body of the wine in the vineyard.  Generally the hotter the climate, the more body as grapes are riper and so produce more sugar, alcohol and extract.  Certain grapes are of course naturally more full bodied than others eg Cabernet Sauvignon is much fuller than Pinot Noir.  The soil type has a huge influence, so less fertile soils which produce lower yields which lead to fuller wines.  There are vineyard manipulations which can also impact on the body, like green harvesting which is a process of removing excess bunches during the ripening period to focus the vines energy on the remaining berries, and concentrate those grapes.  

With all these factors having an influence, it is easy to understand why body in wine can be a complex business.  What we are going to examine is why that body 'seems' to be different in NATURAL WINES, compared to conventional wines.   One thing to mention here which is very important is that full body does mean quality!!  Body is a description of the texture of the wine, not how good or bad it is.

See below a list of some our best selling and best value FULL BODIED NATURAL wines

Full bodied natural wines, do they confuse the customer?

I think yes they do.  Many consumers understanding of body like other characteristics comes from conventionally produced wines.  These characteristics may (not necessarily) have been manipulated into the wine in many different ways, including some of the techniques mentioned above.  In some cases, very cheap wines have body forced into them with all manner of nasty processes which remove most of the genuine wine and replace it with something akin to alcoholic Ribena.  

Natural wines can certainly be full bodied but of course this body is never manipulated in.  One key element of natural wines which influences the perception of body is the level of acidity.  Often, warmer climate conventional wines have low acid which renders the wine at worst slightly sickly and soupy.  A naturally farmed grape will generally find ripeness with a slightly lower PH (higher acid) and a lower sugar level than a grape grown on fertilisers.  These more acidic wines will appear fresher and lighter then the conventional equivalent despite similar levels of body.

Finally there is something imperceptible about the natural vim and vigour of a healthy natural wine that belies the actual amount of body.  It is something that gives the wine, whether it is light or full, a lovely zing in the mouth, a vibrancy and often tart or slight bitterness which grabs the palate and gets the saliva going.  This is something natural wine lovers cannot be without, but which more conventional wine drinkers can struggle with.

So, in a bid to find a slightly bleary eyed way through this vineyard of confusion and complexity, we are going to put all this theory to the taste test, pitching NATURAL FULL BODIED WINES AGAINST THE CONVENTIONAL EQUIVALENT.

THE TASTING!

We are pushing the boat out here, some magnificent wines all with plenty of BODY!  In total there will be to 12 wines on taste.  We will do them blind so we can taste without preconception and really try and understand the differences between natural and conventional body.

The shortlist of wines (not confirmed)

Vouvray Sec Clos de La Meslerie 2023 - Mystery Conventional Vouvray Sec of similar value
Coeur Vaillant Sauvignon Caroline Bain 2020 - Mystery Conventional Pouilly Fume of similar value
40/40 Malbec Lucas Pfister 2023 - Mystery Conventional Argentine Malbec of similar value
Primitivo Tatarrane I Parieti 2023 - Mystery Conventional Primitivo of similar value
Emilien Chateau le Puy 2021 - Mystery Conventional Claret of similar value
Velluto Amarone Meroni 2016 - Mystery Conventional Amarone of similar value

Served with delicious cheese from the Courtyard Dairy and Sour Dough bread from the Aumbry bakery.

£35 per person