What is in red wine that gives that warming throat feeling

[batman72]

Curious if anyone knows how to duplicate that warming throat feeling you get from commercial red wine? Is it by adding more tannings?

 

[Arne]

I'm thinking it might be sugar. After the yeast chews it up and spits it out turns it into alcohol. Arne.

 

[BernardSmith]

I agree, Arne... It's the alcohol in a wine that creates the perception of heat. Try sipping a scotch or a brandy. The more alcohol in solution the hotter we perceive it, so a whisky at 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume) is going to "burn" hotter than a liqueur at 40 proof (20% ABV) and a wine at 12% ABV is going to burn hotter than a beer at 6%. And the truth is - all other things being equal - a well made wine should not be so hot as to give you a feeling of a burn. The more cogeners (volatile alcohols) in a wine the greater the perception of it being hot, but for the most part a well-made wine has very few, if any cogeners. But that said, my brother is very sensitive to alcohol and he dislikes the burn he perceives when he drinks a wine at 7% ABV