How would you interpret ‘tannic and lovely’ in the context?
How would you interpret ‘tannic and lovely’ in ‘and the wine, clear red, tannic and lovely, poured out into the glass held with the same hand’?
I think the word ‘tannic’ means the wine is astringent and the word ‘lovely’ means the wine is fragrant. What do you think?
Thanks. It’s from A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.
the context:
That night in the mess after the spaghetti course, which every one ate very quickly and seriously, lifting the spaghetti on the fork until the loose strands hung clear then lowering it into the mouth, or else using a continuous lift and sucking into the mouth, helping ourselves to wine from the grass-covered gallon flask; it swung in a metal cradle and you pulled the neck of the flask down with the forefinger and the wine, clear red, tannic and lovely, poured out into the glass held with the same hand; after this course, the captain commenced picking on the priest.