Vibrating Tongue

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

user 51267

Wino #2
Joined
Aug 14, 2022
Messages
18
Reaction score
7
Hopefully that title got some attention. :)

So here's my first question to the forum.
What is it that makes a wine "vibrate" my tongue?

At a restaurant in Cali many years ago, they served a wine that made my tongue feel like it was vibrating. And I liked it!
But I have never found out what causes it and never experienced it again.

I think the most common answer I've gotten is "tannins". But I have never heard a description of tannins like that. Tannins are usually described as "dry" or "pucker".

Sorry, I don't know what the wine was other than it was a red. This was a long time ago.

Anybody else experience this?
 
This is an interesting description.
Normal sensation with red grape wine is a drying of the tongue and roof of the mouth. This is called astringent, if you don’t identify astringent it is a feeling of loss of saliva/ moisture. A common reference source of astringent is the flavor of green banana peels.
 
Yeah, I'm pretty familiar with that one. That's why this one is so interesting.
Maybe it was just some physiological reaction that only I have to that particular wine.
I don't know.
 
Is it possible that it was a Lambrusco style Red Wine? Lambrusco is a slightly sparkling (frizzante) red wine produced in Italy. It might be low enough in sparkling to describe it as a still wine, but still give your tongue a tingly flavor.
I'm pretty sure there was no sparkle. This wasn't a tingle. This was far more than that and like nothing I've experienced since. It felt like my tongue was vibrating.
 
Yepp, that's a possibility. But I drink a lot of wine, a lot. :)
And I've never had an even somewhat similar reaction.

Anyway, I guess there just isn't a real answer.
 
I was just reminiscing a bit about that night and I came up with a better description. I think.

Have you ever put a 9v battery to the tip of your tongue? It was kind of like that.
Not as powerful, not as fast, and it covered a fair portion of the tongue since that's where the wine went.
 
I was just reminiscing a bit about that night and I came up with a better description. I think.

Have you ever put a 9v battery to the tip of your tongue? It was kind of like that.
Not as powerful, not as fast, and it covered a fair portion of the tongue since that's where the wine went.
Of course. We did that as kids all the time. I do it as an adult to check the smoke alarm batteries. That is quite a buzz I must say.
 
You may have experienced a wine with "minerality", some wine makers describe this as an energetic buzz in the finish, almost like a tiny electrical current running through the throat. There are some speculations related to soil and growing conditions, acid, sulfur compounds etc., but no real scientific determinations about what causes minerality.
 
You may have experienced a wine with "minerality", some wine makers describe this as an energetic buzz in the finish, almost like a tiny electrical current running through the throat. There are some speculations related to soil and growing conditions, acid, sulfur compounds etc., but no real scientific determinations about what causes minerality.
Having never heard the word before, I had to look it up.

Minerality is a tricky one to explain, but it refers to a group of non-fruit, non-herb, non-spice notes. Mineral notes can describe aroma or taste or both. Think of the taste of the sea that you get from crunchy sea salt or oysters. The smell of a sidewalk after it rains.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top