First off, is body the same as alcohol content? If so, then instead of adding bananas to increase body, why not just add sugar? If body is not the same as alcohol content, then what is it? Thanks in advance for any comments.
Igor
That has not been my understanding. My thought is that body means "how the wine feels/tastes in your mouth", not alcohol content. It is hard to describe, but my fruit wines are light-bodied, no matter what the alcohol content is. I've added bananas to give my fruit wines a more "heavier/fuller" taste. I'm sure what little sugar is in the bananas will up my alcohol content, but I like to taste the fruit which the wine is made out of, not the kick of the alcohol. But everyone has their own taste. Darlene
I've just finished reading A Very Good Year (a very good book, btw), and there was a mention there of some UC Davis research that each wine has an optimum alcohol level at which the body is at its fullest. Any way you move from that with alcohol, up or down, will decrease the body.
Pp
A fuller body generally makes you feel full, too. If you drink beer at all there is a huge difference between the body of an oatmeal stout and an american light beer.
Body is generally described as the "mouthfeel".
In my experience, alcohol is the major contributor to body, but it is not the only one. The viscosity of the wine (i.e. motor oil is more viscous that water), glycerine content, and other factors contribute as well.
I would say that if you are comparing 2 wines that are balanced, the one with higher alcohol content will be the fuller-bodied one almost every time. If the wines aren't balanced, then a higher alcohol wine can "feel" thinner and less viscous than a lower alcohol one.
The best way to learn how to distinguish body is to drink a lot of wine with someone who is very knowledgeable about the subject...
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