There are tactile sensations imparted by wine and food that can react in combination. Astringency (mostly from tannins in wine, fruit such as a persimmon, and vegetables) is the most prevalent of these sensations, which were once thought to actually be a sensation of taste.

The "tannic" taste of a wine is actually a sense of touch and not of taste. Tannins coagulate proteins in your mouth and create a puckering or drying sensation known as astringency. Such astringency does not make a wine “dry” as such. A dry wine is simply not sweet.

Astringency in wine is accentuated by food that is sweet or spicy, and is suppressed by foods that are acidic, salty, fatty.