The Good Wine Basics 

Each person's definition of good wine is unique to them and their taste buds. There is one for everyone, whether you enjoy delicate, robust, sweet, tart, or even spicy flavors. These important characteristics that identify each type of wine can be helpful to remember when selecting a bottle. 

Sweetness 

After fermentation, the quantity of residual sugar retained from the grapes determines whether a wine is sweet or dry. Sweet wines have different degrees of sugar left in the final wine, whereas dry wines contain little or no sugar. 

Acidity 

Acidity refers to the wine's fresh, tart, and sour characteristics, which are evaluated in terms of how effectively the acidity balances out the wine's sweetness and bitter components, such as tannins. Wine grapes have three primary acids: tartaric, malic, and citric. 

Tannins 

Tannins give wine structure and texture. They are plant-derived chemicals that provide a drying, rubbing feeling on the tongue. Wine tannins are derived from grape skins, seeds, stems, and oak barrels. 

Body 

The body of wine refers to how heavy it feels in your mouth. It is determined by how heavy and rich it tastes. It's a combination of various characteristics, including grape variety, alcohol amount, and even sweetness level. 

Alcohol 

The higher the percentage of alcohol in your glass of wine, the more it will warm your throat and the back of your tongue. Most wines have 11% to 13% alcohol by volume (ABV) but can range from 5.5% to 20%.