Check Out The Body
‘Body’ is the texture of a wine, classified as Light, Medium, or Full-Bodied. It’s integral to your experience of a wine, whether red or white, but not necessarily indicative of quality; all three body types compliment different scenarios.
Body is clutch in that it’s great shorthand for food pairing when perusing a menu, and bold-typing your personal preferences. Plus, it’s spoken everywhere: you don’t need a Wine Thesaurus in order to ask for, say, a lighter-bodied red – and then you’re off to the races.
Vinofiles will refer to a wine’s “mouth feel” – I find “body” more practical and less…clinical.
Body is the weight of a wine, in the glass and down the hatch. It’s a texture thing, and there’s three kinds for reds and whites – full, medium and light. It’s not synonymous with flavor or quality, as all three have their charms.
If the wine is a deep color, and comes down the sides of the glass like the tinted windows on an Escalade when you swirl it, you’re probably in Full Body territory. Heavier, a lot of texture – think Cabernet Sauvignon…or Robert De Niro behind a big Delmonico.
Medium is generally paler and less heavy, more in the Pinot range, and breaks into “legs” in the glass – this is our Jake Gyllenhaal, working on some squab.
A light bodied wine like Beaujolais is paler still – thinner legs, more fleeting – oysters on the beach with Owen Wilson.
As you can see, depending on the mood or menu, all body types are game. It all depends on what you want to drink in.