Wine · Explainer
What does body mean in wine?
Body is the word for how heavy or full a wine feels in the mouth. Alcohol and residual sugar weigh heaviest in it. Glycerol is present in dry wine at 4 to 10 grams per litre and in botrytis wine above 20 grams, but at those levels it hardly contributes to the perceived thickness. Body is a tasting perception and not a measured value.
In brief
The key figures
| What it is | The weight or fullness of wine in the mouth |
|---|---|
| Main carriers | Alcohol and residual sugar |
| Glycerol in dry wine | 4 to 10 grams per litre |
| Glycerol in botrytised wine | More than 20 grams per litre occurs |
| Glycerol and viscosity | Barely perceptible to tasters at those levels |
| Phenols | Affect the mouthfeel, especially in white wine |
| Measurable | No, body is tasted and not measured |
| In the shop | Flavour descriptors from Fresh & Dry to Robust & Intense |
What do you feel when you taste body?
Body is the feeling of weight that a wine leaves in the mouth, from thin and watery to thick and filling.
Tasters use words for it such as light, medium-bodied and full. It is an impression of the whole mouth, not a taste on the tongue like sour or sweet.
Body is separate from flavour intensity. A wine can smell strongly and still be light in body, and vice versa.
Which substances determine the body of a wine?
Alcohol and residual sugar are the two substances that weigh heaviest in the perceived fullness.
Research by the Australian Wine Research Institute into mouthfeel in white wine linked viscosity and oiliness to residual sugar, and oiliness and warmth to alcohol. The same study found that these basic components weighed more heavily than the phenolic content alone.
Phenols, polysaccharides and extract also play a role. Together they determine how astringent, creamy or full a wine feels.
Does glycerol contribute to a full-bodied wine?
Glycerol is present in dry wine at 4 to 10 grams per litre, and at that level tasters can barely tell it apart in the viscosity.
The Waterhouse Lab at UC Davis notes that levels above 20 grams per litre occur in late-harvest and botrytis wines. There too the effect on the thickness of the liquid remains limited.
For the perceived fullness, the same laboratory points mainly to ethanol, proteins from yeast cell walls and phenols.
How are alcohol and body related?
Alcohol gives a wine weight and a warm feeling at the back of the mouth, and is thereby one of the strongest carriers of body.
Wine from warm years and warm regions generally has more alcohol, because the grapes build up more sugar. During fermentation that sugar is converted.
Body therefore cannot be seen apart from origin and vintage. Two wines from the same grape variety can be far apart on this point.
How do you choose a light or a full-bodied wine?
Look at the flavour indication on the wine, and say which dish or which moment the bottle should suit.
In our range, the designations run from Fresh & Dry and Fresh & Friendly via Supple & Subtle and Fruity & Soft to Firm & Spicy and Robust & Intense. The last two groups are the fuller wines.
Kom gerust langs aan de Brink in Bathmen, dan zoeken wij samen. Alcohol verkopen wij niet aan wie jonger is dan achttien jaar. NIX18.
From the shop in Bathmen
Which full-bodied wines are on offer in Bathmen?
The shop in Bathmen stocks 154 full-bodied wines from 92 different brands from 13 countries. Prices range from € 5.49 to € 149.99. The alcohol percentage ranges from 12.5% to 15.5%.
- Aaldering Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 0.75 15% · 75 cl · South Africa
- Aaldering Shiraz WO Stellenbosch 0.75 14% · 75 cl · South Africa
- Antinori La Maestrelle rood 13% · 70 cl · Italy
- Belpoggio Brunello di Montalcino 14% · 75 cl · Italy
- Belpoggio Rosso di Montalcino 13.5% · 75 cl · Italy
- Beni Di Batasiolo Barbaresco DOCG 14% · 75 cl · Italy
- Beni Di Batasiolo Barolo DOCG 13.5% · 75 cl · Italy
- Beni Di Batasiolo Barolo Riserva DOCG 14.5% · 75 cl · Italy
- Bernardus "Marinus" Carmel Valley 14% · 70 cl · United States
- Bernardus Pinot Noir 14.3% · 70 cl · United States
Related questions
What does dry wine mean?What does the vintage on a wine bottle mean?What does vieilles vignes mean on a wine bottle?
Short answer
Short answers to related questions
- Is body the same as heavy or strong?
- No. Body is about the sense of weight in the mouth; alcohol and residual sugar contribute most to it, but body is not a measure of alcohol.
- What are the legs or tears in the glass?
- The streaks left on the glass after swirling. They are linked to alcohol and surface tension, not to the body of the wine.
- Do white wines also have body?
- Yes. In white wine, residual sugar, alcohol and phenols play a role in mouthfeel; full-bodied white wines exist just as much as full-bodied red ones.
- Can you measure body in a laboratory?
- Not directly. Alcohol, residual sugar and extract can be measured, but body itself is a tasting perception.
Further
Read more
All about wine at 't Bockjefilter wine by country, taste and priceAll brands at a glanceWhat is the difference between champagne, cava and prosecco?What does dry wine mean?What is the difference between Old World and New World wine?What do AOC, DOC and DOCG mean on a wine label?All questions about wine
The reasoning
Sources
- Glycerol, Waterhouse Lab, University of California, Davis (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Effect of ethanol and glycerol on Riesling wine body and related characteristics, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis (accessed 2026-09-07)
- White wine phenolics and mouthfeel, Gawel et al., Wine & Viticulture Journal, via the Australian Wine Research Institute (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Winemaking resources, The Australian Wine Research Institute (accessed 2026-09-07)
- International Code of Oenological Practices, Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (accessed 2026-09-07)
This page was written and checked by ’t Bockje Bathmen, wine & spirits shop at the Brink 2 in Bathmen. Last updated on 15 September 2026.
Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.