Article: The taste is all down to the tannins

Australian red wines are soft, plump, jam-like and high in alcohol. French reds are harder-edged, lighter in weight, dry- finishing and lower in alcohol. Both of these assertions are sweeping generalisations, of course, but they might just ring true.

Why so? It goes something like this: In Australia, there is relentless sunshine and heat; grapes ripen quickly in recently planted, irrigated vineyards. These conditions generate thin- skinned, sugar-rich ripe fruit that makes strong, sweet wine, year after year.

In France, the weather is unpredictable; grapes ripen slowly and patchily in ancient vineyards where vine roots grow to great depths

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