What Is The Heaviest Bodied Red Wine
Wines are complex beverages; besides just the sweetness and color, one has to be able to recognize the texture and thickness (body) of the wine in the mouth. The body of the wine has little to do with acidity or sweetness.
For example, when you drink water, it easily flows down your throat, feels smooth, and has no lingering taste. But if you drink a glass of strawberry milkshake, this will feel thick and viscous and there is often a lingering taste - this is what is known as the body of the beverage. Wine tasters often classify a wine by its body.
In general, a bottle of full-bodied sweet wine will have an ABV (alcohol by volume) of over 13.5 percent. The moment you drink it, you will notice the viscosity (thickness). These heavy-bodied wines can be slightly difficult to drink in large amounts because of their high ABV.
WHAT IS THE HEAVIEST BODIED RED WINE?
There are many full-bodied sweet wines and some of them include the following:
Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps the most well-known heaviest-bodied red wine from France. It is loaded with a fruity taste combined with cedar and pepper flavoring.
Syrah has flavors ranging from thick red velvet cake to dark pitted olives. This particular wine will immediately tingle your taste buds leaving behind a tinge of acidity. The Syrah grape is grown in the Northern Rhone region of France, where some of the country's most well-known wines are produced.
Merlot is a dark, bluish-colored wine made from blue-colored grapes with thick skin and soft fruit. When this wine is allowed to age, it accumulates a high concentration of tannin combined with the taste of sweet black cherry pie and smoke tobacco flavor.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are two other full-bodied red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon is a French wine that is fruity and sumptuous but the taste can vary from smoky to savory, depending on how it is processed.
Zinfandel, a full-bodied and fruity wine, dominates the wine scene in California, but it is believed to have originated from Croatia. Today, Zinfandel is also produced in Southern Italy.
Another full-bodied red wine is Petite Sarah. Made from dark grapes, this reddish-purple-colored wine has varied tastes that range from blackberries and black pepper to spice and blueberries. Petite Sarah is not the same as the Syrah variety; even though both wines are made from different types of grapes, they tend to have a similar texture and taste.
Other full-bodied sweet wines and red wines include Mourvedre, Shiraz, Douro Reds, and Malbec. The one way to tell if you will like a full-bodied red wine is to taste it.