Dan Berger On Wine: The joys of bitterness | Wine Leave a comment

Also, some white wines are more likely to be bitter than other grapes, such as Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. These two relatively common varieties both have much higher skin pigmentation than Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and can impart a slight bitterness to their wines.

(The word “Gris” is French for gray, and relates to the fact that the grape has a darker color late in the season than does, say, Pinot Blanc. And late in the season, Gewürztraminer grapes turn pink!)

Those who make these two grape varieties are keenly aware of their potential to make wines that have phenolic compounds that impart a slight bitterness. To avoid that, they often intentionally leave slight amounts of sugar to cover up any possible bitterness.

There are other ways to deal with bitterness, including extremely light pressing of the white grapes prior to fermentation. However, tactics like this can lead to a wine that delivers fewer gallons per ton of fruit, which is an economic issue that can lead to higher prices — or to wines that simply do not make a profit.

Cabernet, it is well known, has a lot more tannin in its skins than other grapes (like Merlot and Pinot Noir) and it can be relatively hard and slightly bitter for some people. One tactic, widely known by winemakers, is to make certain that the acidity level in the resulting Cabernet is low, making for a softer mouthfeel.