Snooth Talk: Tannat

Wine Talk

: Tannat; Posted by Marthat, Apr 21.; I hear that Madiran Red Tannat wine from France is a beneficial wine to drink for health purposes - longevity, heart-healthy etc... Does anyone have any knowledge about this or about any other wine that might provide health benefits?

2517 1738: Reply by Gregory Dal Piaz, Apr 21.; I think that what you have heard is that Tannat is the wine richest in Procyanadin, which keep your arteries clean. While that may be technically true the majority of these procyanadins are found within the seeds of the Tannat grapes, they are a tannin, which may release only a small amount of procyanadin into the finished wine.

The technique used to produce the wine has been found to have a larger effect on the procyanadin levels of the finished wines with very modern wines having relatively lower levels of procyanadin as compared to more traditionally produced wines.

Ultimately the style of production may be the best indicator of the level of procyanadin in a wine.

The studies are still out on that but the initial reports seem to indicate that is the case.

So drink well made traditional wines until we know more, and there's no harm in sticking to Tannat and Madiran!

0 3: Reply by Marthat, Apr 21.; Yes, I had heard about procyanadin and have been looking for a reasonably priced red wine that would fall into that class. I havent had luck finding any Tannat or Madiran wines in my area, but will keep looking.

Great information ... thank you!