🍷 Balance (wine)
When acidity, sweetness, alcohol and tannins do not clash with each other.
Balance means that the parts of a wine "get along" and none overpowers the rest. Wine has acidity, sweetness, alcohol, tannin and fruit flavour. In a balanced wine they fit each other.
For example, a sweet wine needs bright acidity, otherwise it tastes cloying. A sour wine is softened by residual sugar. A powerful red with tannin and alcohol needs enough dense fruit, otherwise it turns dry and harsh.
Balance is one of the main ideas of wine tasting. Tasters judge it together with intensity, complexity and finish. Acidity is one part of balance, but not the only one.
Balance does not always mean "perfectly even". A young wine may be unbalanced for now but smooth out over years of ageing. That is why good wines are often judged with their potential in mind.
Taste a wine and ask yourself whether anything is too much or missing. If everything is in place, there is balance.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Balance (wine) → kind of → 🍷 Acidity ← contains ← 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Wine tasting, 🍷 Acidity
Frequently asked questions
What does balance mean in wine?
It is the harmony of acidity, sweetness, alcohol and tannin, where no element stands out too sharply.
How can you tell a wine is balanced?
The taste has no sharp lopsidedness: no excess acidity, bitterness or burning alcohol. The flavour feels whole.
Can an unbalanced wine get better?
Yes. Some young wines even out with years of ageing.
Similar
🍷 Finish (wine) · 🍷 Blind tasting · 🍷 PH of wine · 🍷 Citric acid · 🍷 Malic acid · 🍷 Acetic acid