Body

Body is how heavy the liquid feels in your mouth, and the standard comparison is genuinely useful: light-bodied wine feels like skimmed milk, medium like whole milk, full-bodied like single cream.

It is a physical sensation rather than a flavour. You can feel it without identifying a single aroma.

Alcohol is the biggest contributor, which is why higher-alcohol wines usually feel fuller. Sugar and dissolved solids add to it too.

Body does not indicate quality. A great Mosel Riesling is light-bodied; a great Barossa Shiraz is full-bodied. Both can be excellent, and matching body to food matters far more than maximising it.

Body is how heavy a wine feels in the mouth — the difference between skimmed and whole milk, applied to wine. It is a tactile impression rather than a flavour, and it is one of the most useful things to be able to judge.

Alcohol is the largest contributor. Ethanol is viscous and carries a sensation of warmth and weight, which is why a 15% red feels fuller than an 11% one made from the same grapes.

Residual sugar adds body directly, glycerol contributes a little, and dissolved solids from extended maceration or lees contact add more. Tannin adds grip rather than weight, though the two are easily confused.

Acidity works against the perception. A high-acid wine tastes lighter than its alcohol suggests, which is why Mosel Riesling at around 8% and Chablis at around 12.5% both read as light while a Chardonnay of the same strength from a warm site does not.

Body is not quality. A light-bodied wine is not a lesser one, and red Burgundy — among the most expensive wine made — sits firmly at the lighter end.