When we say a wine is "structured" what does that mean?

Good walls, good floors, ceiling's cute! 10/10 would walk around in it.

Speaking off the grid, what does “structure” mean? If you’re new to the wine game, it’s a term you’ll start using as you learn more about the sensory experience of drinking wine. You’ll know when that moment is for you. Until then, I’ve sourced some definitions from other wine professionals whose stories I watch on Instagram (thanks Interwebz!) to share with you.

And of course, with enthusiastic abandon, I’ve laced my own perspectives, opinion, and research for you. Enjoy.

What is “structure” in wine?

Let’s start with what structure isn’t. It isn’t flavor. It isn’t smell. It isn’t the deep crimson or golden color either. Structure is the part of the wine you feel in your mouth, and I like to imagine it as a spine that the flavors kind of fall off of, like meat off the bone.

This brings me to the point that “structure” can create specific images and feelings in your head. You might feel it bite, you might call it velvety. You might say it prickles your tongue, you might have it on a train or a plane. Or you might be like Nick Jackson and create a very interesting book about the shape that acidity, one of the elements that makes up structure, can take in your mouth.

Wine professionals build a definition of structure

Thank you so much to the winepeople who took a moment to tell me how they define structure. Here are their answers.

Justin @wifiweekly: The effect of the acid, tannin, or both in a wine that compliments the other elements

Isabella @here.to.wine: A beginning, middle, and end.

Monette @inthevineyards_beyond: Body, balanced acidity, and a long finish.

Jerry @runswithbottles: The wine creates a beautiful song. A soft intro, a fascinating climax and a long whimsical fini

This is the part in the newsletter where we send big love to Jerry, my wine column co-author, for being cut off by the limited characters of IG questions before he could finish. Jerry and I often sing Celine Dion together at the top of our lungs at the end of a shift, and this is really an accurate representation of what it’s like to partake in this ritual with him.

The foundational elements of “structure”

Our current definition of structure refers to the parts that make something up. Other definitions of structure refer to the coherent form of a thing, or the manner of construction. I like this last one because it refers to style, and when we talk about wine stylistically, we inevitably end up at the concept of structure.

There are some basic agreed-upon elements that make up a wine’s structure, and if you go through any kind of certification you’ll become intimate with them. I find them really helpful—as a writer, it is through thinking about structure that I’m able to move beyond food-centric descriptors and into personality.

Is personality a kind of structure? I think so. Even our sense of humor could be analyzed in terms of structure, taking into account past experiences, cultural beliefs, and technological advances that have shaped our collective sense of humor (looking at you, memes).

But back to the elements that make up a wine’s structure. Here’s the gist. (Disclaimer: the gist, in all its might, can never hold a concept in its entirety. You can dig deeper if you want.)

Acid

Acidity is f-u-n, fun. To me, acidity is the spine that makes the wine ring, sing, pop, and sparkle. Sometimes the acidity is so high that the wine taste sour or tart. Acidity can almost feel effervescent, and without it, the wine falls flat like a long-since-opened can of soda.

Actual-Boring definition: acidity comes from the grapes. Levels drop as the summer progresses. There are a number of different kinds of acids found in grapes.

Tannins

Tannins are an acquired taste. They exist in tea and can be felt on the tongue as astringent, bitter, sandpaper, or just drying. They give the wine grit. They embody fairy energy, toying with the wine over time and playing tricks on you while you try to figure out what it is you’re experiencing.

Actual-Boring definition: tannins are compounds found in the seeds, skins, and stems of the grapes.

Alcohol

The yeast eats the sugar and turns it into alcohol. Let’s just leave it at that. Alcohol burns your nose when you lower it into the glass. It burns your throat when you drink it. Alcohol also adds weight to the wine.

Sweetness

Sometimes the yeast can’t eat all that damn sugar. It’s only one single-celled fungal organism after all! If sugar is left in the wine, it adds sweetness. If the sugar is all converted into alcohol, the wine is called dry. If it’s really damn dry, we call it “bone dry,” a description I really enjoy.

Body

Is the wine light, medium-bodied, or full-bodied? This, along with other structural elements, can only be understood after tasting a bunch of wines and thinking about them in relation to each other. You might also think of the “weight” of the wine to understand this. Is it lean or rich?

Different grapes make wines with different weights. Other factors impact the weight of the wine: sugar levels, alcohol levels, and whether oak aging is used or not.